BY DAVID HOLMES ON 16/09/2018

What a great day in the office! The eventing team nailed the cross country today with all five riders clear and four in the time. The team are currently in gold medal position but Ireland are hot on our heels. What a change a day makes! The final will take place on Monday after changes were made to the competition schedule on Friday night due to the heavy rain that had been forecast for Sunday.

Dressage had a busy day today with two Chef D’Equipe meetings reviewing and discussing the options for the Freestyle to try and reach a solution. One option that was explored was the move the competition into the indoor reining arena after the reining final concluded yesterday however there was insufficient time to adapt the facilities, including the surface. The OC also looked into the possibility of holding the competition on Monday and changing the horse flights to Tuesday but that change would have a significant logistical impact on the other disciplines and their flights. It is disappointing that this competition could not be held when originally scheduled but we have had two fantastic dressage competitions and the team have done a fantastic job, bringing home two bronze medals. Charlotte, Carl, Spencer and Emile all performed brilliantly in the Grand Prix, putting the team on the podium to secure our Olympic qualification for Tokyo in 2020 and Charlotte did a beautiful test in the Special on the Friday to win an individual medal with Mount St John Equestrian’s nine year-old mare, Mount St John Freestyle – a very exciting pair for the future!

We now turn out attention to the second week of competitions including the para-dressage, vaulting and showjumping. The para-dressage athletes had their arena familiarisation this morning which went well and fortunately before the rain started. The showjumpers also had their first day of light work  following departure from quarantine yesterday and the arrival of the jockeys last night.  All are in good spirit and had interviews with the BBC this afternoon.The Vaulters have had a number of training sessions, inside and out, and are all loving the experience so far.

Today is a quieter day with no competitions being held due to the heavy rain heading through the state but we look forward to the returning to action on Monday and seeing the conclusion of the eventing competition!