ELATION, delight and plain relief; these words combined are an accurate description of my feelings following a fifth place in last Friday’s 1.40m Grand Prix at the Emerald International EC. When it comes to horses, the highs are vertiginous and the less endearing low points are quickly forgotten! As it was the final Grand Prix of the season with BLM Diamond Delux (Murphy), I was determined to achieve a placing. Lofty ambitions for an event rider you might say, but there is little compared to the power of positive thinking, and a good dose of sheer stubbornness. All of the above, coupled with a great horse and a little bit of luck on the day, resulted in a place in the jump-off.

It was then that the games truly began. As the penultimate rider in the jump-off, I watched from the pocket as my competitors put the acceleration theory of G-Force to the test. Corners and turns merged into arced lines, as fences were met and assailed from seemingly impossible angles. Much respect to speed jumpers everywhere, you all obviously scored well in geometry class!