Rosalind Canter, winner of the 2025 Defender Burghley Horse Trials, returned to Burghley to unveil her new plinth on Winners’ Avenue alongside five-time winner Ginny Elliot.
They were joined by baby Seneh, with whom Ros was pregnant at the time of her victory last year.
The lime avenue was the brainchild of former Event Director Bill Henson and commemorates the winning horse and rider of every single Burghley Horse Trials since its inception in 1961.
A newer custom is to invite the reigning champion to come and view their plaque once it is erected on the Avenue. This year, Burghley also invited Lordships Graffalo’s owners, Michele and Archie Saul, to join Ros, along with Ginny Elliot.
“When I was growing up, I was in awe of all these names,” said Ros, walking the avenue with Ginny, whom she had not met properly before.
“Growing up, I loved watching videos of you,” she added, admitting that she almost knew by heart the commentary on some of her ‘Thrills and Spills’ eventing videos from the 1990s.
Walking past her own winner’s plaques from the 1980s, Ginny shared memories from the times when cross-country was preceded by the roads and tracks phases, and riders had to meet a minimum weight: “I think I had to carry two stones of lead.”
Ginny discussed the time Night Cap crammed a stride into a bounce of bullfinches on the way to his 1984 win, and the year victory hung in the balance on Master Craftsman as she completely forgot the showjumping course.
“He was really difficult showjumping; I was concentrating so hard on all the bits I had to do to help the situation… and I went completely blank,” she said. “But a guardian angel tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Turn right, you fool!'”
Her penultimate Burghley win came on Murphy Himself, a grey who was so strong she later passed the ride to Ian Stark.
“I literally had no control,” recalled Ginny. “I had to wrap the reins around my hand but he kept pulling and pulling. But had he not taken off we’d never have got inside the time and won.
“I’ve had so many hiccups; you never seem to have a hiccup…you’re just a joy to watch.”
Ros insisted that there’s a moment of panic during every competition she does “but it’s whether people notice or not”.
“Last year’s Burghley came with extra pressures because I was nearly five months pregnant… there is always a story behind a win and that’s what makes each one very special,” she said.
“It is a constant juggling act but having the children and all those extra dimensions makes me a little bit more resilient.”
Ginny concluded that Ros was one of the best competitors she’d seen for a very long time.
“The fact she thinks I might have had an influence is very nice for me, but she is extraordinary, and she’ll be there for a long time to come,” she added.
Lead image: Ginny chats to Ros, who is holding baby Seneh. Credit: DBHT
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