‘The right riders got the medals’

Andrew Nicholson reflects on an exciting European Championships

- By Andrew Nicholson

EUROPEAN Championships course-designer Mark Phillips should be very pleased with what he did. I thought it was a good track when I walked it, and it was very enjoyable to watch the riders tackle it.

It must be an unbelievable feeling for Laura Collett to have beaten Michael Jung – especially as she won it on speed across country. The right three riders got the individual medals. The form was there to be studied beforehand; hardened championship partnerships and five-star winners were going to come out on top.

My role as cross-country coach for the Swiss meant that I didn’t watch everything that happened to each competitor on cross-country day, but from what I see, it was a very good day for the sport. Yes, there were fallers, but they weren’t struggling round the track and then falling – the majority were going beautifully, making for pleasant viewing and then something happened to make them fall off. The riding was good and horses continued to look fitter than they have done in the past, finishing well, which makes me think that things are going in the right direction.