‘Exhilarating and terrifying at the same time'

Behind every headline of medal glory is a team of journalists covering the big event. So what is life really like for the equestrian press on the Olympic front line? Jennifer Donald hears stories of golden moments, blushes and deadline meltdowns

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WHILE the Olympics is the pinnacle of any athlete’s career, for those in the media, too, little can surpass receiving the callup to report from the greatest show on earth.

Every four years (or five this time round), a herd of excited equestrian hacks armed with notepads, electronic gadgetry and twice as many chargers, and the coveted accreditation swoops in to the media centre, ready to unleash their creativity through every thrill and spill until the final medal ceremony. So what’s life really like on the Olympic frontline?

Writer Kate Green has worked at five Games but puts her trip down under in 2000 top of her list.

“Sydney was a fantastic experience and deeply satisfying because, as the sole reporter for H&H and [former sister title] Eventing, I was responsible for sending daily website reports, which was a relatively new idea, not to mention precarious in the days of creaky dial-up connection,” says Kate.

“It was relentless – the eventing went on for seven days with the separate team and individual competitions – but thrilling, with a third eventing team gold for the Aussies on home ground. The dressage was dominated by three extraordinary horses – Gigolo, whom I saw Isabel Werth riding bareback in just a headcollar, Bonfire under Anky van Grunsven and Rusty with Ulla Salzgeber.”

According to arena announcer Steven Wilde, calling the showjumping jump-off in Rio 2016 was “one of the most incredible moments of my life”.

“I was talking through the tears trying to voice the medal ceremony after Nick Skelton won,” he recalls.

Covering London 2012 for H&H was Catherine Austen, who remembers the glorious golden day of showjumping most fondly.