Melton rider reflects on the challenge of competing at Burghley
Melton eventer Emma Hyslop-Webb has reflected on her experiences of competing in the iconic Defender Burghley Horse Trials event.
Emma (43), and 11-year-old gelding Jeweetwel, finished in 29th place in the standings at the Stamford competition after having 14.4 faults in Sunday’s final show jumping phase.
The biggest challenge for the combination was taking on Saturday’s gruelling 6,500m and 31-gate cross country stage, which they completed the course in 13 minutes and 19 seconds, albeit after accruing 20 penalties, including one for dangerous riding on the final gate.
Course designer, Derek di Grazia, had left nothing to chance when designing the challenging track, with this year's incarnation sending riders the opposite direction for the first time since 2017.
But while Emma admitted she found it tough going at times, she was pleased to have crossed the finish line nonetheless.
"20 penalties so it was very tough out there and very tiring on the horses," she said.
"You get them fit enough but only when you’re out there do you know how the terrain plays and that happened to me.
"There’s five elements to a fence and you have to know them all.
"The course is so much tougher and zapping on the horses so you have to work so much harder to ride the horses."
Family and friends came out in numbers to cheer on the British rider, with their encouragement and support invaluable to Emma, who opened her 2025 with a score of 36.6 in the dressage with Jeweetwel, months after placing 34th at Bramham.
"You don’t realise until you get a horse here how many years it takes," she added.
"When I heard that cheering after, I pulled myself together to get the job done and that's what we did.
"There were lots of 'Go Emma's’ and that really helped."
The competition was won for the second consecutive year by fellow British rider, Ros Canter, on Lordships Graffalo, who remarkably competed while pregnant with her second child.
Her steed is the first horse to win both Burghley and Badminton twice, and he is only the third horse to win back-to-back Burghleys.
Ireland’s Austin O’Connor was second and world number one, Harry Meade, finished third.