THERE are very few competitions on the eventing calendar where entrants could hack home at the end of the day, but that is a possibility for those based at Maizey Manor Farm.

The stables in Ogbourne St Andrew, owned by Australian rider Catherine Burrell, are less than five miles away from the Barbury Estate where the top riders from across the world will descend on this weekend.

The 38-year-old will ride in the intermediate novice event on Duke, having won at Purston Manor last weekend on the seven-year-old, but will be hoping not to be late.

“It is fantastic to have an event so close to home, but you always run late because you think it is going to take five minutes and it takes a bit longer,” she said.

“It is a brilliant event, I think one of the best in the world. It is great to be associated with it and it is a really nicely thought out event for the spectators and the riders.

“He (Duke) is a horse I have had for a few years and as long as my horse has a good time and is confident and happy, then hopefully next year he will be back in the two star and the year after that the three star.”

Also based out of Maizey Manor is Jesse Campbell, who is uses the gallops at Barbury Castle for the fine-tuning his horses’ fitness.

This weekend however, the New Zealander, who this week returned from Luhmuhlen following a 13th place finish, will be looking for another top 15 finish.

“It is probably a little bit more hectic than when we have to travel abroad, because usually we’d stay in one area, but at Barbury we travel back and forth each day and it is nice to sleep in your own bed each night and get the comforts of home.

“I have got a good team of horses for this year and I have got some nice up and coming horses that should perform well at Barbury, so I am looking forward to it,” said Campbell who finished 42nd on the nine-year-old in the Barbury CIC two-star event last year.

“It is his first year at three star level and he is one for the future for sure. He is still learning his trade at the higher level, but I think a top 15 finish will be a really credible finish for him at this stage of his career.’’ Kiwi Megan Heath rides St Daniel in the three-star showpiece.

The former City worker, who used to keep horses with Sir Mark Todd whilst balancing her job in sales and marketing for a banking technology company before moving to Maizey Manor, will use Barbury as part of St Daniel’s recovery from illness.

“He has been quite a good horse at four-star level and then he had a bad year, last year, with illness and I got an injury myself so really we are just looking to improve on various results this year.

“We’d like to give him a competitive run in preparation for a four-star in the autumn. He is normally a very good jumper, but Barbury is a pretty strong field, so for me it comes down to the dressage and being competitive.”

Harriet Rochester will not only be focusing on her own ride in the novice class on My Galway Man, but balancing her job as event press officer.

“It’s my first time at Barbury with this horse,” she said. “We’ve done a couple of novices and this will be our biggest test to date.

“He has come a long way. My first event with him was just over a year ago and because of his racing background he was very hard to ride and very excitable.”

German rider Nicklas Bschorer is also based out of Maziey Manor Farm.

The trials started today and run to Sunday. See barburyhorsetrials.co.uk for ticket information.

MATTHEW EDWARDS REPORTS FROM THE BARBURY HORSE TRIALS THIS WEEKEND: GAZETTEANDHERALD.CO.UK/SPORT