MEGAN HEATH admits she was hoping for more at this year’s Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, even though her preparations for the trip to Lincolnshire were far from ideal.

Megan, 37, who hails originally from New Zealand, on her horse St Daniel, was unable to overcome a tricky cross-country course and was eliminated before being able to reach Sunday’s final show jumping phase.

Her dressage score of 58.2 left her in 45th place heading into Saturday’s cross-country and, despite being optimistic of her chances, the challenging course, designed by Mark Phillips, proved to be too much to handle.

The top prize eventually went to her fellow countryman Andrew Nicholson, who made history with his third consecutive win.

However, it has been a difficult year for Megan, who broke her collar bone in March. She was just happy to be competing at the highest level.

“It's always a little bit disappointing sometimes when you go slightly under par, but it's getting better and better,” she said.

“It was in March that I broke my collar bone, with another horse called Lincoln, but I’ve healed up now and feel OK.

“It would have been nice to get around the course but it wasn’t to be this year.”

The Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials is widely considered to be the most prestigious four-star event in the world and, for Megan, her debut was something to remember.

“I came to Burghley last year, very briefly, to watch it,” said Megan, from Holland Park. “I think it's a beautiful event and, when you're from the colonies, you don't get to see the beautiful old houses and the estates.”

The Sainsbury’s 2014 School Games, supported by National Lottery funding from Sport England and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, was held in venues across Manchester from September 4-7. Visit www.2014schoolgames.com for more information.