After an eventful cross-country phase on Saturday, a solid return to the show-jumping ring saw Suffolk’s Caroline Powell finish on a high at the 2018 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, writes Andy Baber.

Powell and horse On The Brash finished the weekend 31st in the overall standings after an enthralling and incident-packed few days of equine action at Burghley House, near Stamford.

Powell’s horse was tangled up in the fences during Saturday’s cross-country, and the Bury St Edmunds-based eventer was glad to see her horse jump well in Sunday’s final test.

“He was good today – he reacted a little bit to the crowd going down that line near the fences but grew in confidence and jumped really well” she said.

“He probably ate too much of that spectators’ picnic yesterday.

“He jumped clear – he’s 12 and he’s not got too many miles on the clock – he’s certainly not been in too many situations like this with the atmosphere and stuff. Each time he comes out, he gets better.

“It does take a long time to get those superstars and sometimes you just don’t know where they come from. He’s certainly learned a lot this week.”

Family-friendly Burghley is one of two UK-based four-star events and one of only six in the world, with 160,000 people and the best riders on the planet descending on Stamford for the weekend’s action.

And fans were treated to the very best equestrian performances in dressage, cross-country and show jumping.

New Zealand’s Powell narrowly missed out on a place in the national squad at the upcoming World Equestrian Games (WEG) in the United States, but is already targeting a return to competing in her nation’s colours.

“We said we needed to find something to get back on the team,” she added. “It would be great to get back on the Kiwi team and I wish them all the luck at WEG in a couple of weeks.

“I’m sad not to be there.

- The multi-award-winning Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials from August 30–September 2 has been established as a major international equestrian and social event in the Autumn Sporting Calendar for over 50 years. For more information visit burghley-horse.co.uk.