Olympic champion Ros Canter capped a golden summer with a maiden Defender Burghley Horse Trials title.

Canter, 38, added her third 5* title to the team eventing gold she won in Paris with a record-breaking Burghley score.

She led from the end of the first round courtesy of Izilot DHI but it was Lordships Graffalo, lovingly nicknamed ‘Walter’, who took control in the cross-country phase before coming through Sunday’s nerve-shredding showjumping finale to take glory.

“It means everything,” said Canter. “I’ve achieved a lot, I’ve been lucky, I’ve achieved some great things and going into this year, the Olympics was this one big box tick and in some ways it's made me a bit flat.

“So I came into this week and I thought:' I don’t need this, but I really want it.' I had a good feeling all week but I didn’t tell anyone.

“I felt really confident, ready to go out there and be more and I’ve stuck to my system and haven’t asked questions about anyone else about how to ride or what strides they're going on. I said to myself: 'you know what you’re doing, believe in yourself', and it’s paid off.”

Canter faced an anxious wait on Sunday as the last rider into the arena but history was on her side, with eight of the previous 10 cross-country winners having gone on to lift the title.

The pressure of the occasion took its toll on her rivals, with New Zealand’s Tim Price and fellow British rider Harry Meade - who climbed the podium with Canter - both knocking down one pole to extend her lead at the top.

Canter adopted a cautious approach but it proved a shrewd one, with a minor time penalty not enough to knock her and Olympic accomplice Lordships Graffalo off top spot.

“He's a legend in his own right already at the age of 12,” said Canter, who won the European Championships and Badminton Horse Trials in 2023 with the same companion.

“What other horse has achieved at his age what he has in recent years? I’m a lucky person to be able to pilot a horse like him that thrives in this kind of atmosphere. This environment can be quite stressful for them, the atmosphere can buzz them up in the wrong way but he just relishes it.”

Canter was already a force in the eventing world prior to this summer but shot to national fame when winning Team GB’s first medal of the Games alongside Tom McEwen and Laura Collett, with the trio paraded in front of an appreciative audience on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Stamford. 

“It’s a privilege to have a horse which can help Team GB to a gold medal,” added Canter.

“I don’t think there is another Walter. I’m so glad he has shown everyone on British turf just how good he is.”

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