Southam’s Max Warburton says he couldn't have wished for more at the Burghley Horse Trials

Warburton, 26, is amongst the youngest riders at this year’s 5* in Stamford, which has been judged to have one of the most competitive line-ups in the event’s 43-year history.

After dazzling in the opening dressage phase of the competition, the Southam-based rider admitted just stepping foot onto the world-class course was a childhood dream come true.

“It has been a real buzz to be here,” he said after completing an error-free showjumping round on a sunny afternoon in Lincolnshire.

“Ten year’s old and he’s [Deerpairc] jumped double clear on his first 5* - and at Burghley - I couldn’t have asked for any more. He stepped out there, had a look at the people and was just phenomenal.”

Warburton’s debutant horse romped home to the finish in the four-mile cross-country course known to be the toughest in the world, while some of the field’s biggest names including Britain’s Oliver Townend failed to complete.

Taking a moment to consider his performance alongside a high-calibre field, Warburton admitted the ‘big bad Burghley’ experience had surpassed expectations.

“I think the whole thing has gone really well. The dressage trip went better than expected, we had a lovely cross-country trip and we finished off with a clear round. I couldn’t have asked for any more.

“We’ll prep for Badminton and next year should be pretty exciting.”

Warburton’s maiden outing parallelled a spectacular all-round performance by Olympic champion Ros Canter, who added a first Burghley title and third 5* crown to the team eventing gold she captured in Paris.

The 38-year-old reigning European individual eventing champion has enjoyed a fairytale summer and didn’t stop short when she finally clinched the Burghley crown that had for-so-long evaded her.

“It means everything,” she said. “I’ve achieved some great things and going into this year, the Olympics was this one big box tick and in some ways it made me a bit flat, so I came into this week and I thought I don’t need this but I really want it.

“I had a good feeling all week but I didn’t tell anyone. I felt really confident, ready to go out there and be more. I said to myself ‘You know what you’re doing, believe in yourself’ and it paid off.

“It’s a privilege to have a horse that can help Team GB to a gold medal and then come to an event like this which is completely different,” she added.

The challenges are so wide apart with the terrain here and the difficulty of the cross-country course but he did so well. I’m so glad he showed everyone on British turf just how good he is.”