Event rider Tim Price could not have been happier despite a second-place finish in the Defender Burghley Horse Trials.

Price, who won the 5* event in 2018, has found the showjumping phase his nemesis in his quest for more glory in the UK, with star horse Vitali squandering a final-round lead at Burghley last year and at Badminton earlier in the spring.

The pair started the day in second place and that was where they stayed after Olympic champion Ros Canter held on for glory, with Price delighted to have knocked over just the one pole in a vastly improved test.

“I’m incredibly relieved and relaxed. I was very confident but I have been every time,” said Price, who moved to the UK from New Zealand in 2005.

“You’ve got to present yourself to the challenge in a good way and I think I’ve done that each time but this time was a little different, I was very secure in the plan that we had and what needed to be focused on in our warm-up and preparation and it was down to him to jump the fences.

“In the past, I’ve tried to jump the fences for him and that creates added pressure and tension.

“It’s going in the right direction and I couldn’t be more thrilled because it’s so devastating when it doesn’t go to plan.

“When you’re in the lead, it’s just ticking away in the back of your head and you don’t sleep quite as well.

“Even though I’m a pretty laid-back character, that does eek away at you a little bit. On some horses that’s a positive but this guy definitely not, and being in second I wasn’t even concerned at all about the scoreboard, I was on the job, focusing on what I needed to do.”

Vitali is still yet to break his duck in major events but is edging closer and closer to glory, with three podium finishes at UK 5*s since his fifth-place finish in the individual event at the Tokyo Olympics.

“This is a win for us, I think Joe [Giannamore, owner] would agree,” said Price. “We’ve got to find a system that can work and can be repeated down the track. He’s always within a shout of a win so when horses are like that consistently, they eventually win. He’s got a couple in him, that’s for sure.

“It’s physical and mental with him. I know he’s got the ability, I had him in a nice way where he was listening to me.

“We just had to keep tweaking and fiddling and I’ve had 100 attempts to get something close to a clear showjumping round so I’m really happy. I’m so pleased that all the hard work paid off.”

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