September 2—Stamford, England.

In an extraordinary finale to the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, the evergreen New Zealander Andrew Nicholson seized his third victory in 17 years over U.S. rider Sinead Halpin.

Nicholson came into show jumping in second place after adding just .8 time penalties to his dressage score on cross-country with Avebury.

He had one down with the 12-year-old gelding (Jumbo—Bairn Free, Bairn), which gave Halpin a two-fence margin on Manoir de Carneville. But after foot-perfect performances in the first two phases, “Tate” struggled a bit on Day 3 and had three rails to finish in second.

Great Britain’s William Fox-Pitt took third on Parklane Hawk with two down, which was good enough to win him a third HSBC FEI Classics title.

“It’s a few years since I’ve won a CCI****, but it just shows you have to keep going in this sport,” said an overwhelmed Nicholson, 51. “I’ve had Avebury since he was a foal, and there have been days when he’s let me down and days when he probably thought I let him down, so this is very satisfying.”

The horse, which Nicholson sold to a jumping yard as a 4-year-old and then bought back two years later, was first evented by his partner Wiggy Channer until Nicholson “stole him back.” The handsome gray gelding has won at all levels and was eighth at Burghley in 2011. He moves and jumps beautifully but has a cheeky nature and needs to be kept in check when the pressure is on.

Listen to an interview with Nicholson.

Halpin, 30, was gracious in defeat. “My horse warmed up beautifully, but he was possibly a little bit tired. It was disappointing, but I’m really proud of him,” she said. “I haven’t done as much as these guys [Nicholson and Fox-Pitt] but I will be back, again and again and again!”

The 12-year-old Selle Francais gelding (Gaub—Carneville, Matador du Bois) collected 12 faults after lowering the oxer at 3, the third element of the triple and the out of the double to finish on a score of 48.3.

Despite the day not ending the way she’d envisioned, Halpin, Oldwick, N.J., was still pleased by her performance over the last four days.

“I feel like this has been a fantastic experience, this has been a brilliant event, and I’m so lucky to have this horse,” she said.

Listen to an interview with Halpin.

Halpin’s second-placed finish is the best U.S. result at Burghley since Stephen Bradley’s win with Sassy Reason in 1993.

The HSBC FEI Classics, which links the world’s six four-stars, went right to the wire as well, with Fox-Pitt clinching the $150,000 first prize by a single point. If he’d hit another fence, Nicholson, who was third in 2011, would have become the first non-British rider to win.

“That was close!” said a relieved Fox-Pitt afterwards. “I knew Andrew was on fantastic form and to win by 1 point was nerve-racking.”

Listen to an interview with Fox-Pitt.

Only four riders jumped double-clean of the 52 finishers in the competition. The most troublesome fence was the upright red postbox at 11, which also proved difficult when it was used at the London Olympic Games last month.

Allison Springer had two rails down with Arthur to finish in sixth place.

In the past show jumping has proved heartbreaking for Springer, Marshall, Va., and Arthur, but not this Sunday. The pair rose one place from seventh following the cross-country. This is the second top 10 four-star placing in 2012 for Springer and Carole and William Springer’s 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse Cross gelding by Brandenburg’s Windstar after placing second at the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event.

California’s Kristi Nunnick finished in 26th place with her 11-year-old Holsteiner mare R-Star. The pair had a single rail on Sunday to complete their first Burghley on a score of 83.9.

Kate Hicks and Erin Sylvester were also competing for the first time at the British fixure. They finished in 50th and 52nd riding Belmont and No Boundaries respectively.

Find full results on the Burghley website.