Ros Canter: Pregnant rider wins Burghley Horse Trials on Lordships Graffalo
Ros Canter won a second successive Burghley Horse Trials, weeks after announcing she was expecting her second child.
The Briton triumphed in her last event before taking a break from competition on Lordships Graffalo, who becomes the first horse in history to win Badminton and Burghley twice.
Canter, 39, was also the first rider since Ginny Leng in 1989 to win Badminton and Burghley in the same year on the same horse.
“I am so grateful to Lordships Graffalo for some unbelievable experiences,” she said. “He is my horse of a lifetime and hopefully the horse of a lot of people’s lifetimes.
“I hope he goes down as a legend of our sport, a legend of all time, not only but for his performances but for his character as well. He’s an unbelievable horse to have at home and he thrives on these occasions.”
Canter won by nine penalties, with a final score of 23.6, from second-placed Irish rider Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue after 1.2 time time faults in Sunday’s showjumping finale.
Britain’s Harry Meade and Cavalier Crystal were third for the third year in a row. He was also fourth on Annaghmore Valoner and ninth on Et Hop Du Matz.
Lincolnshire rider Canter won Burghley for the first time last season, just weeks after clinching team eventing gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics with Team GB.
The reigning European individual champion won the Badminton Horse Trials for the second time in May and the Luhmuhlen Horse Trials in Germany a month later.
Her Burghley triumph means Canter was the second rider to win three five-star events in one season after compatriot Pippa Funnell, who won the Grand Slam of Eventing in 2003.
Canter withdrew from selection for the British team at the home European championships later this month due to her pregnancy, but chose to compete at Burghley as it is an individual competition so would not be letting anyone down if she pulled out.
After Sunday’s success, she added: “It’s a big deal announcing a pregnancy when you know you might be coming to an event like this.
“I can’t believe I haven’t had a single person saying, ‘what are you doing?’. I’ve had a few people saying, ‘are you sure?’ and ‘be careful’, but on the whole I have had huge support. It has been amazing.”
As for the future, Canter said: “You never know with childbirth, it can throw all sorts of spanners in the works, but the plan is to be at Badminton next year.”