One of the first things I noticed when I arrived in Barcelona were signs everywhere for the CSIO International Horse Show. It’s been more than 10 years since I went to my last horse show and being a lover of equestrian sports since I was a kid, today I decided to relive my youth.
There were thousands of people there and it was standing room only. Definitely different to most of the other big shows I've been to in Hickstead and Dublin. I arrived before the mid-day 'spectacular' and managed to sneak into the riders’ area as there wasn't room anywhere else. Sitting in this section meant I had a great view but also I got to be around the riders as they watched their team mates jump.
The biggest class of the day was the Nation's Cup where a team of four riders from each competing country jump two rounds followed by a jump-off against the clock if there is a tie. Show jumping is usually an individual sport and the Nation's Cup is one of the few team events where riders who have been trying to beat the pants off each other for the past few days come together to represent their country. In that sense, it’s very special competition. It’s also run around the world at all of the major horse shows and 2009 is the 100th anniversary.
I was disappointed that the UK wasn't competing as I had seen Michael Whitakar and Nick Skelton in one of the previous classes. I knew them from my childhood and it was a little bizarre to see that British show jumping hasn't moved on since the 80's. Spain were the winners by a broad margin followed by Canada and Poland. Watching the class from the riders’ area was awesome because each time one of the Spanish team would jump, their entire team would stand at the fence and ride the round with their team mate, clicking their tongue and willing the horse over every fence. Needless to say when their last rider jumped clear ensuring their win, the entire stand erupted in mad cheers.
It was great to see such brave horses and riders and remember the days when I knew them all by name.
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