The 2022 Defender Burghley Horse Trials winner Piggy March reflected on her victory as she returned to the home of the Lincolnshire five-star.
Piggy, a Burghley Horse Trials ambassador, spoke to H&H at Burghley House at a media preview ahead of the 2024 event.
“I think the memory of that will stay really clear,” said Piggy. “It meant the world to us. I was even more delighted as Vanir Kamira won it at 17 years old and she had been placed very high in it four times before, so it was much deserved to have her name on Winners’ Avenue.
“She is such a special mare with such heart – they need heart to gallop and jump [around here] – and she has that in abundance. I’m just so very proud of what we achieved together, what she gave me.
“She is totally worthy of being a Burghley champion. The Burghley winners in the past have really been those horses who love to gallop and love to jump. She was definitely one of those.
“I will always think of that as one of the most special wins of my career, but also so very deserving of a horse who I felt, in some stage of her life, should have been a Burghley winner. To have been a part of that with her is really special.”
Vanir Kamira, who also won Badminton with Piggy in 2019, retired from top-level eventing in 2023 and has been enjoying an active second career in the dressage arena with Annabelle Wesley – the teenage granddaughter of Vanir Kamira’s owner Trevor Dickens.
While Piggy will not be riding in the five-star at Burghley this year, she is looking forward to being involved in other parts of the event, including competing in the Dubarry Young Event Horse final.
“We will be here to watch and I love to walk the course each year, even if I’m not riding, as I find it fascinating,” she said. “I love what they do with the terrain and the iconic, historic fences that we get. I will definitely come and watch that.
“I’ve been coming to Burghley for 30 years or something. I remember coming here to do Pony Club showjumping, young event horse days, being up at the campsite, running around after Mary King and my favourite riders. It’s an amazing vibe here. It comes at the end of the summer. It’s a very special atmosphere and a rider favourite. We are all very lucky to be here and privileged to be part of this great sport at such an amazing venue.”
She added: “Burghley always has a very special vibe to it. The adrenaline starts going the moment you drive in the gates at Badminton or Burghley, as they are both very special places in our sport.
“They are what dreams are made of and what has inspired us riders, from when we were very small or got into the sport, along with the love for our horses.
“It’s the pinnacle and where we all want to train ourselves to get to and have the chance to compete here. It holds a very special place in I think most equestrians’ hearts. Even today driving into the park gives you very special feelings.”
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Piggy March and Vanir Kamira win Burghley: ‘This horse deserves to have her name on a plaque on Winners’ Avenue’
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