Laura Collett is relishing the opportunity to leave a serious mark at this year's Defender Burghley Horse Trials. The two-time Olympic gold medallist returns with 13-year-old Bling after the mare's impressive debut at the five-star event 12 months ago, where the pair finished 10th.
Return to Lincolnshire with high hopes
With another trip to Lincolnshire looming between 3 and 6 September, Collett, who won team eventing gold and individual eventing bronze at the recent FEI World Championships, is targeting more success on home soil.
"I'm really excited to go back now I know I've got a proper Burghley horse," said Collett, who hails from Cheltenham. "I always thought she [Bling] was, but last year she gave me a brilliant ride, and we can build on that."
Building on experience at Burghley and Badminton
Bling's first Burghley appearance was a step into the unknown for the horse, but she came through that test on eventing's most demanding stage with flying colours. And after a solid 14th-place finish at Badminton earlier this year, Collett has a positive outlook about the duo's return to Burghley House.
"You never quite know if you've got a true Burghley horse until you've been and done it once," she explained. "She was very, very inexperienced going there last year, but obviously she went super around there and then had a brilliant ride at Badminton."
Realistic ambitions and a dream of winning
With that experience now under her belt, Collett believes a higher finish than 10th is within reach, although she knows there are still areas to improve upon. Collett continued: "We've got realistic ambitions. She's not a dressage horse, so she's going to be having to claw back after that. But hopefully, if it's a tough cross-country course and the time's tight, then hopefully she can climb up the leaderboard. A realistic aim for her at this stage would be a top five."
Having ridden around the course multiple times, Collett points to Burghley's unique features as to what makes it the ultimate test of horse and rider. "It's the demands of the cross country that really set it apart, the terrain and the use of the hills there," she said. "There's not really another event like it."
And while the immediate goal is a top five, Collett has a much bigger ambition in the back of her mind. "Obviously winning would be the dream," she said. "It's a tough ask, but I wouldn't say it's impossible. She's still improving, she's still not the finished article. Hopefully, maybe a few years down the line, that could be a realistic aim."
Defender Burghley Horse Trials (3-6 September 2025) has been a major international sporting and social event for over 50 years. It attracts the world's top equestrians and is attended by vast and enthusiastic crowds.
