Young British stars excel to take the honours in Portugal

There were two hard fought wins for 19-year-old Daniel Neilson, from Loftus, near Whitby and placings for Huddersfield's 21-year-old William Whitaker.

The first win for Daniel was in the 1.35m Speed class with HighTone Z. There were 74 starters and the competition was fierce – William was close behind Daniel finishing in third place with his father's horse Sarlino.

In one of the main classes, the Masters, Daniel beat Ireland's Jessica Kurten in the final jump-off to secure the title and his share of the 15,000 Euro prize money. He followed this up with a third placing in the 1.45m class and said afterwards: "This has been my first four-star show and it's just been an incredible few days.

"The horses are all going superbly and to take third place in such a strong class this evening really has been a step up the ladder for me."

The crowds were on their feet cheering on their chosen competitors in the 10,000 Euro Knockout competition.

William Whitaker, riding Sarlino, got through to the final against some incredible competition to finish in second place. "The crowds always love knockout competitions and this was no exception," said William.

THIS year's Burghley Horse Trials will celebrate the 50th consecutive year of the event being run. Organisers managed to keep the show on the road when other events had to be cancelled, including during the foot and mouth epidemic of 2001 and the very wet weather of 2008.

This year's dates are September 2 to 5.

For more information, go to: www.burghley-horse.co.uk