Willa Newton scored her first Burgham International Horse Trials win on the final day of the five-day Northumbrian eventing extravaganza, taking section E of the NIS Group Ltd and Encon Technical Solutions CCI2*-S on Da Vinci.
The Leicestershire-based rider added nothing to her leading dressage mark of 24.8 on six-year-old Da Vinci, whom she bought as a four-year-old in Germany from Dirk Schrade.
“He’s been lovely all the way through and I’m very excited about him,” said Willa. “He’s got the most incredible brain. He’s been so professional about everything I’ve ever done with him – you come out and it’s like he’s been there before. I had to go pretty fast across country [to win], and he was brilliant.
“The courses here are fantastic, and it is such good experience for the young horses to come and jump in a main arena like this. They will have learnt so much throughout the whole weekend.”
Willa would love to take Da Vinci to Le Lion d’Angers for the World Six-Year-old Championships in October, via the British Eventing National Young Horse Championships at Cornbury House Horse Trials in September.
She had a comfortable margin of victory of 6.8 penalties over second-placed Finn Healy and Kilbunny Catch Me, with local rider Laura Fenwick in third on a new ride, Drumrankin Idha.
Ireland’s Danielle McCormack led from start to finish in the Jack-Thomas Watson Horses-sponsored CCI2*-S section F on another six-year-old, Anna Sims-Hilditch’s mare Hildare Trust Me. She completed on her dressage score of 28.3, just 0.2 of a penalty ahead of Jago Jackson on Johnny Hornby’s Barrington Highlight K.
“We bought her as a just-broken four-year-old in Belgium through Jeremy Scott, who finds most of our horses for us,” said Danielle. “She’s proving to be very exciting. She’s quite a character – she knows she’s quite special, but she has a great brain and is super-brave. She’s quite big so has taken a bit of time, but with the help of my trainers, Andrew Fletcher, Holly Woodhead, Jeremy Scott and Robin Dumas, we’ve produced her slowly over the past two years.”
Danielle, 26, has been based at Hildare Stud in Wiltshire for three years now.
Jago Jackson’s second place in this class meant that he won the final trial for the British team for the Junior European Championships in Poland next month.
“It feels absolutely amazing to be in this position – the horse has been perfect from start to finish here,” said Jago, 17. “I can’t thank Johnny Hornby enough for the opportunity to ride this wonderful horse. I am hoping we get a call from selectors on Monday and that it is a positive one! I’d like to make a career out of eventing, so this would be a great stepping stone.
“I’ve loved all three of the international events in Northumberland this summer [Belsay in May, Alnwick Ford in June and now Burgham] – they have all been beautifully run on perfect ground.”
Lucy Standish, also hopeful of a spot on the British junior team, took third place on Mr Cookie Time and sixth on Global H. Just 3.5 penalties separated the top nine finishers in this typically competitive class.
Burgham, situated in beautiful, tranquil Northumbrian countryside not far from the A1 between Morpeth and Alnwick, is one of the UK’s most popular equestrian events and attracted a vast number of entries in its eventing classes this year – nearly 950, including many of the world’s top riders.
Event Director Craig Anderson said: “We’ve had a fantastic week of sport at Burgham this year. The standard of competition was exceptional across all classes, and it’s been a real privilege to welcome so many top riders, world-class horses and up-and-coming stars, and supportive owners. We’re so grateful to our landowners, our volunteers, sponsors, and the wider eventing community; without them and a huge team effort, none of this would be possible.
“The weather held up well and the ground conditions were some of the best we’ve ever had, thanks to the extremely hard work of our team. We’re proud to offer a platform where horses and riders can truly shine, and we love the fact that riders and owners continually demonstrate their appreciation of that. We’re already looking ahead to next year.”
The provisional dates for Burgham International Horse Trials 2026 are 23-26 July
Visit www.burghaminternationalhorsetrials.co.uk to find out more.
All the cross-country from Burgham can be watched on demand on ClipMyHorse.tv – visit www.clipmyhorse.tv/en_GB/.
IMAGES © 1st Class Images