Graham Fletcher: ‘Long may Britain’s gold rush continue…’

Former international showjumper Graham Fletcher, now a highly-respected trainer, as well as a breeder and producer of young horses, on the coveted Olympic spots and county show entries

We have a strong British team heading to the Paris Olympics – and we’re now in the countdown period when everything is on a knife-edge.

All was going well in Aachen, with third place in the Nations’ Cup, until later in the week Harry Charles had a crashing fall resulting in a hairline fracture to his arm. Fortunately, Harry will be back riding again in under a fortnight and is definitely on the Olympic showjumping team with Scott Brash, Ben Maher and alternate Joe Stockdale.

The selectors had a particularly tough task this time. Tim Gredley and Rob Whitaker, who both narrowly missed out, are easily good enough to have made the team had so many good candidates not been forward. They’ve hardly put a foot wrong this year; and Rob, who’s riding with great maturity these days, has a tremendous partnership with Vermento.

Having been involved in several Olympics as a rider, coach and selector, I can’t over-emphasise how much hunger there is to be on a team. But when it comes to sheer pressure to get there, the stress was on another level for London 2012.

Because it was a home Games, owners and riders put their all into getting there, many planning years in advance. With eight combinations going into the final selection, I thought my wife Tina and Hello Sailor had done enough. But it wasn’t to be. Although Tina went to London, where the Brits won a well-deserved team gold, it was in that heartbreaking role of first reserve.

Dublin followed straight after London with Tina and Sailor jumping one of the few double clears in the Nations Cup. Ironically, another came from France’s Olympic reserve rider Roger-Yves Bost. Double clear in Dublin is a great achievement. But, hand on heart, it only made us think of what might have been… that’s how much the Olympics mean to any rider.

Good luck to the team in Paris. We’ve had some tremendous form at the past three Olympics – long may the gold rush continue.

On the wane

County shows were once the mainstay of our sport. Not only did they offer the best prize money, if you had any British team ambitions, your county show form was paramount. With the advent of all-weather surfaces and centres putting on international shows, their popularity with riders has waned. Overall, entries are down.

Nevertheless, when there’s a good standard of well-presented competition, showjumping still retains the public’s interest and draws good crowds. It’s disappointing, therefore, to see how many county shows have given up staging our sport. Maybe they just need some encouragement or advice because, surely, a good jumping class isn’t as costly to run as some of the expensive displays?

At Great Yorkshire, the show’s huge stadium-like grandstand was totally packed for the Cock O’ the North with every vantage point taken around the ring.

Much credit for showcasing showjumping here goes to Charles Mills, whose nine-year tenure as show director is about to end. As a committee member, I’ve found him a great man to work with and highly receptive to ideas for good jumping classes.

In Charles’s era, the prize money has gone up, we’ve built an all-weather collecting ring and recently the main ring ground has been vastly improved. Drafting in Adrian Kay, head groundsman at York racecourse, has been transformative for the show.

Even after a deluge on Monday night that would have left the old ground unjumpable, Tuesday’s competitors agreed how well the going held up. Prolific winner Mark Edwards’ father Martyn was so impressed, he said he wanted to thank the organisers.

Good ground is so important when younger riders and horses are brought up on all-weather surfaces, to the point that they’re almost deserting the county grass arenas. So it was good to see several younger competitors taking up the challenge of the Yorkshire’s impressive main ring. Rachel Proudley rode particularly well. Now under the guidance of Richard Howley, she’s definitely one to watch.

● What would persuade riders to jump at county shows more? Write to us at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and country, for the chance for your letter to appear in a forthcoming issue of the magazine

• This exclusive column will also be available to read in Horse & Hound magazine, on sale Thursday 18 July

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