Event rider Tayla Mason is relishing the chance to finally line up at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials after missing out at the Lincolnshire five-star last year.
The 32-year-old, who is based in Marlborough in Wiltshire, will head to Burghley with her home-bred 15-year-old named Centennial, known as Chase, having already enjoyed the best five-star result of her career at the Badminton Horse Trials earlier this year.
The pair finished sixth at the South Gloucestershire venue and now Mason is excited to strut her stuff on Burghley’s famous course.
“Excited is one way of describing it,” said Mason when asked about how she was feeling ahead of the Lincolnshire showpiece. “I’ve always wanted to come to Burghley. I think it is an amazing event.”
“There is something about Burghley, and everyone does talk about it. I think the cross-country at Burghley is just so influential, and the course really has the respect of the riders.
“You have to be brave and respectful at the same time and have that grit to get it done. I think Burghley’s course really brings out those things.”
Originally from the Kāpiti Coast on New Zealand’s North Island, Mason had been due to compete at the event last year, but was forced to withdraw after a fall at West Wilts Equestrian Centre just weeks before Burghley resulted in surgery for a serious thumb injury as well as a broken collarbone.
She recovered in time to finish eighth at Maryland, before going even better at Badminton, and Mason explained that missing Burghley has only whetted her appetite even more.
“In my mind, it was a real blow, but it was kind of like, ‘Wow, this has happened.’ I’m going to have to move on and prepare for the next one’,” explained Mason.
“So, this year, I’m excited that we’re two weeks out. This is my plan and we’re all full steam ahead.
“Badminton was such a highlight for me this year too. I felt like at Badminton, everything finally came together. It was a good start to the year for me and Chase, and something that I’ve just kept trying to build on leading into Burghley.”
Centennial is a particularly special partner for Mason too, as the pair have been together from the beginning, with Mason’s mother, Sonya, breeding the horse in New Zealand.
Centennial then made the journey to Britain with Mason when she moved to the UK seven-and-a-half years ago.
“We’ve gone up the grades together, so our bond is really strong,” Mason added. “We know each other so well. He’s an incredible horse. He’s an incredible cross-country horse, so I’m looking forward to getting out with him.”
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. For more information visit www.burghley-horse.co.uk
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