'I have to confess, I did shed a tear'

After a 13-year wait, Great Britain bring the Nations Cup home-and there wasn't a dry eye in the house

- JENNIFER DONALD, SARAH RADFORD

Longines Royal International, All England Jumping Course, W Sussex

NEARLY 50 years after John Whitaker jumped his first Nations Cup for Great Britain in Poland in 1975, he made his 180th team appearance a day to remember, sealing victory for a close-knit British team in front of an ecstatic home crowd. It was a moment that caused this Yorkshireman to shed a tear - and he certainly wasn't the only one.

"It's brilliant to be back winning in front of our home crowd," said the 67-year-old. "I wasn't quite here in 1929 [when the Nations Cup first ran] but the first time I came to Hickstead was in 1970 with a pony - that was daunting-but today was, probably, after all those years, the best day."

Great Britain hadn't won on home soil for 13 years and the enormity of the occasion had a similar effect on chef d'équipe Di Lampard.

"I have to confess, I took myself off and shed a tear. I'm not normally like that, but this did hit me because I wanted this so badly," she revealed.

Friday's Longines FEI Nations Cup of Great Britain was an absolute thriller. Three of the eight countries were neck and neck after round one of this two-round competition, with Great Britain tied on four faults with Ireland and France.

This was thanks to British clears from pathfinder Ben Maher, contesting his first team competition with Pamela Wright and Charlotte Rossetter's 14-year-old Exit Remo, and Harry Charles on last year's double-clear hero Casquo Blue, while Tim Gredley (Medoc De Toxandria) and John with his great partner Equine America Unick Du Francport collected just four faults each.

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