Great Britain won the individual gold medal at the 2014 Junior European Eventing Championships at Bishop Burton College, Yorkshire last month.
Perfect clear
Anna Wilks from Henley-on-Thames couldn’t afford any mistakes in the showjumping in order to maintain her lead. She duly piloted Touch of Pleasure to a perfect clear in to finish on their dressage score of 41.2pen.
“I suppose it’s fair to say that show jumping is both mine and my horse’s strong point – as that’s what we did before getting into eventing. But you never dare hope it will really all come together like it has,” said Anna.
Ireland’s Cathal Daniels and Rioghan Rua were just 1.3 penalties behind her to take silver, while Germany’sJerome Robine and Quaddeldou R won bronze.
Once in a lifetime
Anna, who is based with Pippa Funnell in Sussex, described Touch of Pleasure as a “once in a lifetime horse”.
“He was amazing,I couldn’t have asked any more of him,” said the 17-year-old.”It is even more special because my grandmother bought him as a four-year-old and I have produced him since then.”
Very bruised
In the team event Britain finished just outside the medals in fourth place on a final score of 162.1. Ireland won gold (149.1pen), Germany took silver (151.2pen) and bronze went to France (159.4pen).
Emily King had a fall on the cross-country and was taken to hospital. She later tweeted: “I haven’t broken my pelvis, just torn muscles and very bruised.”