The Maidwell rider won the world famous Horse Trials in 2022 on Vanir Kamira but returned for the first time since with a new challenge on 12-year-old gelding MCS Maverick.
Despite a very strong dressage performance on their opening day of competition, sitting fifth in the standings, the duo lost their way during an incredibly demanding cross-country phase and were eventually eliminated with three errors on the course.
Despite the disappointment, March noted that her young horse still has a lot to learn at 5* level and is excited to see what he can do next.
“I don’t really know what my plan was other than to go out and ride him like he is a good horse,” she said.
“For the very little I have done with him, I didn’t love the course on the first walk because there was a lot there that was not clear on what he could do.
“But I am also not here to just canter around, unless things are going wrong.
“He has the class and the scope so it was worth a go but the lack of partnership we clearly have did show up in a couple of places.”
March and Maverick have only done six runs together in the lead-up to Burghley, with their best outing coming with an eighth place finish at Bramham earlier this year.
With this being their first 5* together, it means that there is plenty more to learn and achieve for both horse and rider as they continue to build on their budding partnership.
“It’s all of these things that we still have to learn,” she said.
“It is still early days for us, and we will go back and do a 4* before anything else.
“He didn’t have the best of Autumns last year and he has done a couple of one day events and so this is where our partnership was.
“I’ve taken some good things from him and we’ve still got some things to work on.”
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
