Young rider Tom Bird says he is still pinching himself after completing the Defender Burghley Horse Trials for the second year running.

The 22-year-old was the youngest in the field at this year’s 5* event in Lincolnshire but showed he is at home at the top level of his sport, dropping just three places from his debut effort last year to come 33rd.

Atop the leaderboard was Olympic champion Ros Canter, who put the finishing touches to her spectacular summer by adding a first Burghley crown and third 5* triumph to the team eventing title she captured in Paris.

Chipping Norton-based Bird, meanwhile, had more modest expectations with 5* debutant Cowling Hot Gossip but is starting to build an impressive body of work after another strong showing at the eventing world’s most revered venue.

“I’m very pleased, proud of him to have finished, it’s a huge thing,” said Bird. “I’m really pleased for Helen Kerry, who owns him with me.

“The showjumping result wasn’t quite what we planned it in our head but we know he’s not the finished product, he struggles a little bit on the third day but I didn’t know how he was going to come out given how he jumped round the cross-country.

“It’s all learning for me and the main feeling is pride for him.”

This year’s field was the strongest on record at Burghley, with eight 5* winners and a host of Olympians vying for the top prize.

But it was a chance encounter with one former Badminton Horse Trials winner which ranked as Bird’s highlight off the track.

“I was down at the chatzone yesterday after cross-country and Paul Tapner came up and said ‘well done’ to me and he’s someone I grew up watching,” said Bird.

“It’s a bit surreal to be here still. Hopefully we’ll be back.

“Both horses I’ve had here have given me a huge amount of invaluable experience and as the slightly more athletic and talented horses come through, I’ll have that bank of experience to draw on.”

Not many riders bring two different horses to 5* level by the age of 22, which speaks to Bird’s talent, and he is already looking forward to his return with a fresh mount.

“Both Cowling Hot Gossip and Rebel Rhyme, who I had last year, neither of them are the most flashy or athletic horses in the world,” he added.

“I’ve done three Bramham’s, two Burghley’s, a couple of Blair’s and they’ve ticked a lot of boxes, given me a huge amount of experience and at my stage I wouldn’t swap them for the world.

“Hopefully going forwards, as we start to get slightly more talented horses, then they will have given me the experience and knowledge to crack straight on.”

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