Britain's Gemma Stevens won the Burghley Horse Trials for the first time on Sunday, marking the biggest victory of her career on her 31st attempt at five-star level. The 41-year-old Olympian, riding Chilli Knight, delivered a faultless showjumping round to finish on her dressage score of 29.6, the only rider in the field to do so, giving her a maiden Burghley title after 25 years competing at the top level.

Stevens, who first rode at this level in 2007 and represented Team GB at the 2016 Rio Olympics, previously partnered Chilli Knight's mother, King's Gem. Compatriot Katie Magee finished second on Treworra, with America's Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake taking third. The victory follows a difficult World Championships in Aachen last month, where Stevens failed to complete the cross-country phase for the British team, and adds to her 2021 win at Bicton, the five-star event held as a Burghley replacement during the Covid pandemic.