Land Rover Celebrates Another Successful Year At The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials 2012

WHITLEY, UNITED KINGDOM – Sept 6, 2012: Exceptional equestrian competition, Olympic silver medal-winning British riders and two updated Land Rover models came together at last weekend’s Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials.

Land Rover has sponsored the annual event, staged at Burghley House on the outskirts of Stamford, Lincolnshire, for the past eight years. The Midlands manufacturer is also official vehicle supplier of Equestrian Team GBR, and a partner of the British Equestrian Federation, governing body of horse sports in the UK.

The overall winner of the prestigious three-day competition – collecting the Land Rover Perpetual Challenge Trophy and a first prize of £55,000 – was Andrew Nicholson. Riding Avebury, owned by Rosemary Barlow, it was the New Zealander’s third success at Burghley but his first for 12 years.

Presenting the first prize to Andrew was Jeremy Hicks, Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover UK. He commented: “This has been a fabulous weekend of sport and the crowds have been on a real high following the eventing team’s silver medal win at this summer’s Games. It’s a genuine honour for Land Rover to be involved and our continued sponsorship of Burghley demonstrates our commitment to equestrian sport and countryside pursuits.”

Thousands of visitors had a unique chance to show their appreciation for the successful Olympic eventing team when four members took part in a celebration parade. Zara Phillips, Nicola Wilson, William Fox-Pitt and Mary King toured Burghley in one of the Queen's State Review Vehicles, appropriately a Range Rover.

On Saturday, Zara Phillips helped choose the winner of the Land Rover Perfect Tailgate Picnic competition. She commented: “Land Rover vehicles have the best tailgates for picnics, so I was happy to take part. Judging was great fun and a lot of people had made a massive effort – the tablecloths, barbecues and gazebos were out in force. It was very hard to pick a winner but I think we found a good one.” A voucher for a Land Rover Experience and bottle of champagne went to the first prize winners, the Ticehurst, Parry and Glynn-Fox families, visiting Burghley from Bishop’s Stortford. The judges were very impressed with how the three families had packed their Land Rover Discovery with food, planning in advance the full days’ tailgate picnic menu, which included bacon butties for breakfast and tapas spread for lunch.

Second prize of a half-day Land Rover Experience voucher went to Richard Sambrook from Stamford, Lincs. The judges loved the Sambrook family's colour co-ordination, matching their pink table cloth with their Mercedes 4x4.

The event also marked the UK debut of the 2013 Land Rover Freelander and 2013 Land Rover Defender. Both feature revised standard equipment and design details, and are on sale at dealerships now.

Land Rover supported the horse trials with more than 70 vehicles, ensuring that competitors, medical teams, fence judges and officials had access to the world’s most capable off-roader. Models from the current range also form part of the specially designed feature fences on the cross country course.