Hold on tight! Take a virtual walk around the 2023 Burghley Horse Trials cross-country course

The Defender Burghley Horse Trials cross-country course looks set to be a true challenge for this year’s competitors.

The CCI5* Burghley Horse Trials cross-country course features 29 fences over four miles (6,370m) through the iconic Lincolnshire parkland, designed by Derek di Grazia and built by Philip Herbert and his team. The optimum time is set to be 11 minutes 11 seconds, with combinations required to travel at a speed of 570 metres per minute.

Take a look at what horses and riders will tackle on the course on Saturday 2 September.

Burghley Horse Trials cross-country course pictures

Fence 1: Defender Starter

Fence 2: Lambert’s Sofa

Fence 3: Pol Roger Table

Fence 4ab: LeMieux Arena Rails (green railings will be removed)

Fence 5abcd: Defender Valley 

Watch Kitty King explain the direct route for this fence exclusively for Horse & Hound in the video below:

Alternative 5a:

Alternative 5b:

Alternative 5c:

Another alternative 5c:

Alternative 5d:

Fence 6: Triple Bar

Fence 7abcd: Holland Cooper Leaf Pit – the direct route here is to jump off the Leaf Pit drop, followed by a few strides to part c, which is a large hedge, followed by one of two angled brushes

Riders can opt to jump either of the following fence 7d options – the one on the right will take only marginally less time than the left-hand option

View looking back up at the Leaf Pit

Alternative 7a:

Alternative 7b:

Fence 8: Defender Valley

Fence 9ab: Herbert’s Hollow – the direct route here is to jump both triple brushes in the picture below, which has more terrain to deal with than the slower route

Alternative 9b:

Fence 10abc: Defender Trout Hatchery

Watch Kitty King explain the direct route for this fence exclusively for Horse & Hound in the video below:

Alternative 10b:

Alternative 10c:

Fence 11ab: Defender Trout Hatchery

Alternative 11b:

Fence 12: Waterloo Rails

Fence 13: Volatire Design Brush

Fence 14abc: Joules at the Maltings

Watch Kitty King explain the direct route for this fence exclusively for Horse & Hound in the video below: 

Alternative 14a:

Alternative 14c:

Fence 15abc: Rolex – the direct route here is to jump one angled brush over a ditch to a triple brush. The longer route includes more jumping efforts and turns

Alternative 15a:

Alternative 15b:

Alternative 15c:

Fence 16: Parasol Table

Fence 17ab: Irish Horse Board Bank

Riders can choose to jump the log at part b either from right to left or left to right.

Fence 18: Cottesmore Leap

Fence 18 alternative:

Fence 19ab: Fairfax & Favor at Keepers

Fence 20abc: Defender at the Dairy Mound – the direct route here involves jumping the over below at the top of a mound, followed by a right-hand line to a narrow arrowhead, black down the mound on a left-hand curve to another narrow arrowhead

Alternative 20b (there is also an alternative to fence 22a):

Alternative 20c:

Fence 21: Pardubice

Fence 22: Rolex Grand Slam at Capability’s Cutting

Alternative fence 22:

Fence 23: Agria Lifetime Equine Slate Mine

Alternative fence 23:

Fence 24: Boodles Raindance

Fence 25ab: Boodles Raindance

Fence 26: Lion Bridge

Fence 27: Lion Bridge – the direct route is to jump the fish. Those not wanting to jump the fish can run through the water, straight under the bridge and out the water the other side of the bridge to a house, which is on dry land (pictured two photos below)

Alternative 27:

Fence 28: Horatio’s Garden

Fence 29: Defender Finale

Horse & Hound has a team of reporters covering all the Burghley action. To keep reading on our website after five articles, readers will need to buy a subscription. Visit horseandhound.co.uk/join to buy a Horse & Hound website unlimited subscription or, for great value, visit magazinesdirect.com for a combined magazine and website subscription. If you are already a magazine subscriber, the cost to upgrade your subscription to include full website access is minimal – call 0330 333 1113 to find out more.

You might also be interested in:

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Top-10 contender out of Burghley, as Harry Meade and Oliver Townend finalise their rides

How to watch Burghley Horse Trials live in 2024: your complete guide

Watch Kitty King walk the Burghley cross-country course: ‘A real course for horsemanship’

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Gemma Redrup

H&H features, racing and point-to-point editor

Gemma is an experienced journalist, having been part of the H&H team since 2014, who is passionate about all equestrian sports, including racing and point-to-pointing. She has enjoyed riding out for top trainers Nicky Henderson and Charlie Appleby and took part in a charity Flat race at in August 2018. Gemma’s reporting talents have taken her to numerous five-star events around Britain and Europe, as well as European championships.