A strong British contingent, including world number one Oliver Townend, made the most of home advantage as they stormed the top ten at the Burghley Horse Trials.
Townend came up agonisingly short of defending his Burghley title - riding last year’s winner Ballaghmor Class, he was beaten by New Zealand’s Tim Price to come second.
After his victory at Burghley in 2017, the 35-year-old has now finished first, first, second and second in his last four four-star events - a remarkable hot streak.
Townend was full of praise for the victor as well as his own horse and the team that worked so hard to get him in a position to mount a terrific title defence.
“The horse jumped as well as he’s ever jumped and he feels on fantastic form,” he said.
“Every four-star we’ve been to, we’ve been first, first, second and second, let’s hope it continues.
“I’m just enjoying being at Burghley, it’s fantastic for the owners that support me.
“We’ve got a decent team of top-class horses, with a fantastic bunch of people behind them and it’s very special just to be able to keep coming back with better and better horses and being more competitive every year.”
Fellow Brits Tina Cook and Piggy French both took plenty of encouragement from their week at Burghley house, finishing fifth and 11th respectively.
A lively dressage performance left Cook well down the leader board – but she bounced back superbly to just miss out on a top-ten finish.
“He just jumped so well,” said Cook, who travels to the United States next week to represent Great Britain at the World Equestrian Games.
“He surprisingly felt very good – I never know what to expect with him and actually he felt stiffer last year.”
While French did not round off the 2018 Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials with a clear show jumping round, she knows she has a talented horse that could serve her well in the years to come.
French and horse Vanir Kamira finished the weekend fifth in the overall standings, with the pair runners-up in last year’s Burghley.
“It’s been a super weekend,” said the 38-year-old eventer.
“There were a few rubs that went in there so I’ll take that, but obviously it’s disappointing because you want to run a clear round.
“But she’s been great and still to be in the top five or six at Burghley is a great result."