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‘The bubble had to burst – but they’ll come back even stronger’: eventing performance manager reflects on Britain’s elimination at Blenheim European Championships
Britain have won team gold at the past two Olympics and were bidding for a hat-trick of European golds. However, this week reminded us of the unpredictability of sport and that even brilliant horses are not machines. Just as at the Pratoni World Championships in 2022, the Brits came in as favourites and will emerge without a team medal.
Following the cross-country phase (Saturday, 20 September), Britain’s eventing performance manager Dickie Waygood reflected on the performance of the squad, which was running in partnership with Agria.
“Today is not the day we were hoping for, but the most important thing is that all riders and horses are back in camp and none the worse for wear,” he said.
“Good sport is never knowing the outcome until the final competitor has crossed the finish line. Sometimes, the smallest things can completely rewrite the leaderboard and that’s what makes eventing so exciting.
“The British team have had a fantastic run of success in recent years, but sport goes in cycles and the bubble has to burst at some point. For that to happen at a championship on home soil is unfortunate – our riders are gutted for themselves, their horses and their connections, but also for the British public, who have turned out in their thousands to support us and now won’t see us in a position to defend our team title.”
British falls at Blenheim European Championships will give riders “even greater drive to succeed”
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“Yaz, Caroline, Piggy and Bubby all came out today and gave it 100%, but it just wasn’t their day. However, the sign of a true sportsperson is being able to turn disappointment into a strength and I know that they’ll come back from this stronger and with an even greater drive to succeed as we campaign towards the FEI World Championships next year and LA 2028.”
And of course, Britain still has a great chance of winning individual medals, with Laura Collett currently in the gold position, and Tom McEwen in bronze.
“Tomorrow is another day and we’ll now turn our focus to cheering on Tom and Laura as they campaign for a spot on the individual podium,” added Dickie.
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Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
