An Eventful Life is filming all competitors at Burgham International Horse Trials – order or view cross country videos here
Burgham International Horse Trials (30 July-2 August 2026) has once again received huge entries of exceptionally high quality with athletes from 19 different nations - among them many of the most famous riders in the world - to compete at the Northumbrian equestrian event.
Burgham’s feature class is the CCI4*-S. The volume of entries for the CCI4*-S and the CCI3*-S is such that both classes will be split into two separate sections, sponsored by Holme Dodsworth Metals and Indoor Climate Control.
Among the star athletes competing in the CCI4*-S are former world number one Oliver Townend, who has won this class an incredible seven times in the past, reigning European champion Laura Collett - like Oliver, an Olympic team gold medallist for Britain - Kitty King, Piggy March and Olympic gold and silver medallist Tom McEwen. They will face stiff opposition from current world number one Tim Price and his wife Jonelle, both of whom are to represent New Zealand at the upcoming World Championships in Aachen, Ireland’s Austin O’Connor and Padraig McCarthy and a host of top British riders, including current world champion Yasmin Ingham, Sarah Bullimore, David Doel, Gemma Stevens and Tom Jackson.
The highly competitive CCI3*-S supported by An Eventful Life and Houghton Country, numbers three-time Badminton winner and former world champion Ros Canter among its entries, alongside Harry Meade, Emily King and former European champion Tina Cook and her daughter Issy, a real rising star who has enjoyed a superb season to date.
The CCI3*-S has the added excitement of Jago Jackson - winner of the first two legs of the big-money Northumberland Challenge, sponsored by An Eventful Life - going for the £5,000 bonus.
Jago, who was crowned national Young Rider champion in June, is also competing for a place on the British team for the European Young Rider Championships as Burgham will act as the final trial for these top under-21 athletes of the future. This super-competitive class also features the likes of Scotland’s top event rider Wills Oakden, Italian Olympian Vittoria Panizzon and Chinese star Alex Hua Tian.
The Jack-Thomas Watson Horses CCI2*-S is also brimming with top riders, including Oliver Townend, Piggy March, Caroline Harris, Alex Hua Tian, Willa Newton and Kevin McNab.
Riders from northern England feature heavily among Burgham’s entries as well. These include Co Durham’s Katie Magee, Belsay’s Jack Mantel, the Borders’ Sarah Farnsworth and Cameron Swales, North Yorkshire’s Storm Straker and Holly Richardson, and Northumberland’s own Emma Carmichael, Katherine Hague, Laura Fenwick and Lucinda Atkinson, among others.
Burgham also features Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse qualifiers on Wednesday, 29 July, a Thoroughbred and Ex-Racehorse Show on Sunday, 2 August and unaffiliated showjumping on Saturday, 1 August and Sunday, 2 August.
Event director Craig Anderson said: “We are absolutely delighted with Burgham’s entries, and it should be a brilliant, busy week of top-class sport and fun. We are very lucky that the weather in the North has not been quite as dry and hot as it has in many parts of the South of England, and the footing and the grass cover is good. We pride ourselves on producing the best possible going and courses for horses, and we will continue to work to do so.
We have a completely new CCI4*-S track this year, designed for the first time by Dutch Olympian and top rider Andrew Heffernan, which will be really exciting to watch.”
Saturday and Sunday at Burgham not only offer top-class sport, but also great fun for families, friends and children. There is a fun dog show on both days, and hobby horses for children to “ride”. Burgham also features great tradestands and lots of delicious, locally-produced food and drink and public bars. It is situated in beautiful, tranquil Northumbrian countryside not far from the A1 between Morpeth and Alnwick.
If you’re looking for a family day out that’s really affordable this summer, you can’t do better than visit Burgham International Horse Trials to find out more and to buy tickets.
