Now in his fourth year as the course designer at Burghley House, di Grazia boasts a wealth of experience and a reputation as one of the world’s finest in his profession, having previously designed at the Tokyo Olympics as well as the famed Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event back home in the United States.
That reputation has now seen him design the cross-country course at this year’s edition of the iconic Defender Burghley, with the world’s finest eventers set to go head-to-head across 6500m and 31 gates this weekend.
And in an added twist, di Grazia has reversed the direction of the course for the first time since 2017, with the American hoping that it will thrill the riders and the public in equal measure.
“To me it’s always a challenge because you’re always trying to come up with new exercises to give the riders but also keep it interesting for the public as well so that they see something different every year,” said di Grazia.
“I don’t know if it’s getting easier but with this year and reversing the track it’s like designing a whole new course because the terrain comes at you differently when you go the other direction and you still have all the features that you want to try and get into the course.
Held in the glorious setting of Burghley’s historic park, Defender Burghley is one of only seven CCI5* competitions around the globe, ranking alongside Wimbledon and The Masters as a sporting “major”.
And for di Grazia, it is exactly that prestige that sets the famed 5* event apart.
“The thing about Burghley is the terrain here, which you won’t find everywhere,” he added.
“It’s not just the ups and the downs because the ground is always changing and that only gives me a lot of different places to set jumps.
“The course comes at you differently and the thing that happens is that all of the feature fences and the combinations that used to be at the beginning of the course are now at the end of the course, so it gives riders and horses more to do at the end than they if they went the other direction.
“Because of that, the time will be even harder to achieve and by the time you get to the dairy mound you have to be on your game.”
Defender Burghley Horse Trials (4-7 September 2025) 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
