An Irish Sport Horse mare impressed across dressage, jumping, suitability and gallop phases to top a tight leaderboard at Burghley, with Powell planning a long‑term campaign toward a future five‑star return.
WLS Cula Bula (Caroline Powell) won the five‑year‑old final with a score of 80.65, showing balanced ability across all four judged phases.
Caroline Powell has tracked the mare since birth through breeder Gwen Kinsella’s involvement and hopes to bring her back to Burghley in four years as a five‑star contender.
# What happened WLS Cula Bula, an Irish Sport Horse mare ridden by Caroline Powell, won the Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse five‑year‑old final at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials. The winning final score was 80.65. The mare is by KMS Rooney Van De Veldbaile out of Ebony A.S (by Sorento) and is owned by Cath Tomson.
The five‑year‑old final is assessed across four judged phases: dressage, jumping, suitability & type, and a final gallop test. Only the top 10 horses after the first three phases progress to the gallop assessment. This year the gallop was judged by Clayton Fredericks.
# Why Cula Bula won Cula Bula produced consistent results across all phases rather than dominating a single area. Her stage placings were: 10th in dressage, 2nd in jumping, 4th in the suitability test and 5th in the gallop. She went into the gallop leading the scoreboard with a combined dressage, jumping and suitability score of 74.65—just 0.1 ahead of Mystique Noir (ridden by Oliver Townend). That narrow margin underlines how tight the competition was.
# Gallop and final movements
# Powell's plan
# Top 10 finishers
# What this shows for young‑horse pathways The Burghley five‑year‑old final rewards horses that combine basic dressage ability, careful jumping, suitable type for eventing and genuine galloping potential. Cula Bula's win illustrates that a horse with balanced scores across phases can take the title even when not the top performer in any single phase. For riders and breeders, the event highlights the value of producing horses who can switch between precision work and open‑country gallop phases.
# Bottom line
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