It's one month to the Olympics and I have to say preparations are going as well as I could have hoped. Chico (武松) and Jeans (忽必烈), my two best horses, are in excellent form.
Alex Hua Tian, an 18-year-old Chinese rider who has qualifed for the eventing competition at the 2008 Beijing Games, is set to become the yongest Olympic eventer. The Eton College prodigy took up the sport aged 5 in Beijing and has trained in the UK for the past decade. He is now meticulously preparing in Wiltshire, England, for the biggest performance of his life. |
Elodie, my head groom, is writing up a list of the gear we need to travel with us and we've just returned from the all-important last run at Barbury Castle Horse Trials, where Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and many other nations were also having their final pre-Olympics practice.
The entry list was pretty much the Who's Who of eventing and consequently the competition was incredibly strong, especially from my trainers. They posted unbelievably high percentages in the dressage to lead the competition, Clayton Fredericks achieving 78.33 percent (converting into a penalty score of 32.5), and Lucinda scoring an amazing 79.44 percent, or 30.8 penalties.
Chico was first and as ever put on a lovely performance for a 71.6 percent score, which left him in a strong position, 10th, after dressage.
Unfortunately, as I came out of my test I could feel a migraine coming on and so I made a quick exit and went to sleep in the lorry for a few hours. Regrettably, I was not well enough to walk the cross-country course or give Jeans a good work out the day before his test.
After giving Chico, a little jump to prepare him for the next day, Lucinda and I ventured off to walk the cross-country course. It was beautifully built as you'd expect and although still a definite three star course, I'd say it was a softer course in comparison to last year.
The final day dawned with lashing rain and strong winds, with all the excitement of the show jumping and cross-country to come.
Chico and I had a super clear round, which left us in seventh position going into the cross-country. The competition was really heating up as the conditions and big show jumping track were defeating some notable combinations.
Chico was so well placed after show jumping that it was tempting to ride competitively across the country. The aim of the day, however, was to produce a clear round to build confidence, with the knowledge that the horse is fit for Hong Kong.
We produced a fluent round with just one mistake, when I couldn't quite focus on a jump with the rain falling straight into my eyes. Fortunately Chico had it covered and chipped in a little stride and jumped it easily.
We finished well in a quicker time than Jeans, without pushing him. Unfortunately, quite a few riders went a lot faster than I did and so, with the time penalties, I dropped down to finish in 16th place.
All in all, it was a hugely successful week for the team. Both horses went well and now feel secure at this level. Chico has really turned some heads after his performances in dressage and show jumping. Hopefully I will be able to take this forward and really go for it at the Olympics.
