British Open Showjumping Championships 2007

The British Open Show Jumping Championships was a great experience for me and the other vaulters, just the thrill of performing in front of so many people was amazing. Although I was petrified at first it felt fantastic when we were in the arena with the audience all around us. We did a team on Geoffrey with all nine of us for four days in a row, so by the end we were all exhausted. It wasn’t just the performance that wore us out but we also had to practise every day, which meant waking up at about six o’clock in the morning.

I just loved it there, especially during the performance, when the lights came on, everything just went fuzzy and I filled with excitement so the nerves just drifted away. The crowd was great everyday and they clapped whenever there was three on the horse and if we fell off they would all act sympathetic. After the shows I felt like a celebrity because we were made to do autographs along with the cowboys. It wasn’t just the performing that was great but also the fact that we got to stay in a Hilton Hotel.

Nine of us ended up going from E.V.S. and we were: Sarah Reid, Lucy Bell, Sarah Watson, me, Steph Hunter, Zoe Winskell, Sara Shortland, Emma Runge and Paige Brown.

Lydia Barham