MARLBOROUGH rider Andrew Nicholson admitted winning an historic third consecutive Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials title had helped firmly turn the tables on a disappointing year in the saddle.

New Zealander Nicholson suffered a fall in the cross country at the Badminton Horse Trials earlier this year before finishing ninth at the recent World Equestrian Games in Normandy.

But with a place in history beckoning on board horse Avebury, Nicholson held his nerve in the final showjumping round to take victory.

The duo had been fourth after their opening dressage round before the best cross country performance of the day on Saturday saw them soar into top spot.

And while having to wait and watch all the other contestants go first in the showjumping finale, Nicholson brought his horse home safely to add to their 2012 and 2013 victories.

“It’s special for me, especially as I’ve had a very bad year this year. I threw away Badminton, I shouldn’t have fallen off when I did and I think he had a real live chance of winning it,” said Nicholson.

“At the World (Equestrian) Games the other day, I was ninth but I was wanting to get a medal so I was putting quite a lot of pressure on myself to win here, to dig me out of the doldrums a bit.

“It’s been a bad year when I’ve had such a good year the last two years and hopefully this has turned the tide a bit for us.

“He’s such a special horse. It’s a big team effort, when you have a horse that wins something like this three years in a row, it’s not just me.

“I’ve got the luxury to be able to ride him with these things, but the grooms, farrier, dressage lady, all these sort of people are involved with it and they as passionate about doing well as I am and the public are.”

Fellow Kiwi Jonathan Paget had applied the pressure with a clear showjumping round on Clifton Promise.

But Nicholson completed a clear round, despite time penalties, to finish on 46.1 points, ahead of Paget with Australian Sam Griffiths in third.

But despite appearing calm under pressure, Nicholson admitted it was his horse who had been the cooler customer.

“I can assure you I didn’t feel that cool out there in the showjumping. He’s a good jumper, he’s been there and done it all and it’s not like I had to worry about him getting nervous with the people of the crowds,” he added.

“I just had to keep calm and ride him like I normally ride him. He might have rubbed a few fences but he rubbed them in front which he can get away with. It was just a case of helping him round.”

The multi-award winning Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (4-7th September) has been established as a major international equestrian and social event in the Autumn Sporting Calendar for over 50 years. For more information visit www.burghley-horse.co.uk