'Riesenbeck was like a rock concert'

Carl Hester reflects on the Europeans, the nationals, and his ones to watch

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AFTER two of the busiest, craziest weeks of the season it seemed really fitting that in the year of British Dressage (BD)'s 25th anniversary we were able to bring home team gold. The European Championships at Riesenbeck was one of the most exciting competitions I've ever been part of. Sunday's freestyle was like a rock concert.

You could feel the tension through the air in the warmup and riding up the chute to the arena felt intimidating.

The lion's den maybe, but this is what top sport should be about, and with sublime performances, exciting scores including several personal bests, Riesenbeck was the top of top sport.

Everyone knows the army of support and helpers behind our team, and with the pressure on to win gold, our grooms and everybody in the support team played a part. Quite simply, one of the best ways to produce our best performance is to have only that to focus on, and it’s down to our support teams that we were able to achieve it.