British team rider and dual five-star winner Piggy March is leading after the first day of dressage at Defender Burghley on a new ride, MCS Maverick.
She scored 25.7 penalties and heads a British top three ahead of Alex Bragg, second on Ardeo Premier on a mark of 28.4, and Will Rawlin, third on Ballycoog Breaker Boy with 28.8.
This is Piggy’s first appearance at Burghley since she triumphed in 2022 on Vanir Kamira. She took over the ride this year on Maidwell Mavericks’ 12-year-old bay gelding from Pippa Funnell, who rode the horse into ninth place at Badminton in 2024.
The British-bred MCS Maverick, by Mill Law, is quite a character and can live up to his name; he managed to escape from Piggy at the first horse inspection.
“He gets very excited and you have to stay with his brain so there’s not a moment of ‘oh, look over there’,” explained Piggy, who will represent Britain at the forthcoming European Championships later this month.
“If the switch goes in his brain, you’ve lost him, and he needs a lot of working in before his dressage test.
“But he is a beautiful horse who has been produced by the best event rider in the world and has it all there. I was delighted that he was so rideable today. He is still weak in the trot, but he has a great canter, which does have the wow factor, and today he did actually walk as well – this is the pace that can be his Achilles heel.
“I’ve had six runs on him and, although I’m not exactly confident, I’m excited and super-interested to see what happens on the cross-country on Saturday.”
Alex Bragg, whose best five-star result is third place at Badminton in 2024 on Quindiva, said his target with Debbie and Neill Nuttall’s Ardeo Premier, 16th at Badminton this year and longlisted for the British team at the forthcoming European Championships, was “around 30”. He said: “I am thrilled with him. It’s nerve-racking because you put in all the hours and hours of training just to get to this point.”
Will Rawlin has twice been clear across country around Badminton on his family’s Ballycoog Breaker Boy, a 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse, but has yet to complete Burghley. “That’s the big aim,” he said. “He’s a very good cross-country horse, economical and looks between the flags. My intention is to go straight all the way.”
David Doel and Galileo Nieuwmoed, runners-up at Defender Burghley in 2023, are in fourth place ahead of Harry Meade with the second of his three rides, Cavalier Crystal. Ireland’s Joseph Murphy is sixth on Belline Fighting Spirit, 2010 Burghley winner Caroline Powell from New Zealand is seventh on High Time and Frenchman Gaspard Maksud is eighth on Zaragoza.
Tomorrow, all eyes will be on last year’s runners-up, Tim Price and Vitali, Oliver Townend with the Badminton runner-up and Defender Kentucky 2024 winner, Cooley Rosalent, and, of course, defending champions Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo.
The action starts at 10am when Alice Casburn and Topspin are first into the arena.
Every moment of the action from Defender Burghley 2025 will be shown live on Burghley TV:https://burghley-horse.co.uk/burghley-tv
To find out more about Defender Burghley (4-7 September 2025) and to purchase tickets and make a reservation in the Avebury restaurant, visit www.burghley-horse.co.uk.
Pictures by DBHT/Peter Nixon.
