Emma Hyslop-Webb breaks back onto five-star stage with a bang at Burghley

By Lucy Wilde, Sportsbeat

You would never know Emma Hyslop-Webb had taken a break from the 5* scene after the all-round performance she produced at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials.

Hyslop-Webb moved back to her parent’s house in Leicestershire last year to focus on producing horses to be able to move up, but looked entirely at ease completing the final phase at the Stamford venue.

Aboard 10-year-old stallion Jeweetwel, Hyslop-Webb finished 37th overall while Olympic champion Ros Canter put the finishing touches on a spectacular summer, adding a first Burghley title and third 5* crown to the team eventing gold she captured in Paris.

“I’m very pleased with that performance at the end of the week,” Hyslop-Webb said after finishing the third and final phase of the famed Lincolnshire event, the showjumping.

“We finished the round with just one rail down - it was just that last double, but he jumped his socks off and came out bright as a button this morning. What a future that little horse holds.”

Hyslop-Webb had to hold back tears as she successfully completed the infamous Burghley cross-country course just 24 hours before wrapping up her competition, and was relieved her stallion still had some fight left in him for the final event.

“When they come out full of beans on the last day it really does give you confidence going forward. This morning at the trot-up he stood up, looked at his people, they clapped, they laughed, and he loved it,” she said, referring to the final morning inspection.

“It’s just lovely when the horse absorbs that atmosphere and enjoys it rather than hides into it. He’s a lovely, lovely horse.”

More than praising her stallion’s infectious demeanour, Hyslop-Webb sees their completion of one of the world’s toyughest 5* events as a positive sign for the pair’s eventing future.

“For people at home to appreciate what it takes to have the completion here - it’s not just about getting the horse here, it’s also about getting them to complete the course - and when we look at the stats after the cross-country round that’s just 50% of the field,” she said.

“To have done that on a ten year-old, it hasn’t really sunk in yet. He’s such a trier and a horse with such a large heart. That’s really what makes him very special indeed.

“He’s only ten so he’s got a lot of years ahead of him which is really exciting.”

Defender Burghley Horse Trials (5-8 September 2024) 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. For more information visit www.burghley-horse.co.uk