Newtownards eventer Tara Dixon will compete at the Defender Burghley Horse Trials next month on her 13-year-old gelding Master Smart.

Dixon, 23, made her five-star debut at the same event last year. She was eliminated in the cross-country phase after the horse accumulated several refusals. The horse had suffered travel sickness on the journey to Lincolnshire, and Dixon was riding with wrist supports after breaking bones in a fall at Bramham earlier that season.

This year her preparation has been smoother. Dixon said she feels more relaxed and better prepared because she knows the event layout and procedures. She has recorded a fourth-place finish at the Thoresby Park Spring Carnival in April and a 14th placing at Burgham, both four-star events, with clear cross-country rounds.

Dixon's mother, Karen Dixon, is a four-time Olympian and was part of the British team that won silver at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The younger Dixon said her mother helps daily with the horses, rides Master Smart for fitness work, walks the cross-country course with her at five-star events, and assists with managing sponsors and owners.

The Defender Burghley Horse Trials has been a major international equestrian and social event for more than 50 years, attracting top riders and large crowds.