The event horses will be arriving on Wednesday 24th July, with the eventing competition running from Saturday 27th to Monday 29th July, followed by the pure dressage and then pure showjumping competitions, which will finish on the 6th August. The impressive facilities include a massive stadium with all weather surface, cross country course and floating pontoon bridges, which will all be removed after the event, much like we saw in Greenwich Park in 2012.

The teams have now been selected for the three disciplines. Team GB tends to be one of the strongest nations in all three disciplines and spots on teams have been very hotly contested over the last 12 months. This has been especially prevalent with the eventing team, with 12 strong combinations on the initial long list. Selection has been made even harder now that the new format has changed from a team of four with the worst score being dropped, to a team of three with no drop score. I believe that the thought process in doing this, has been to make it more exciting for viewers and to allow the nations, which struggle to field a team of four, to be competitive.

There has been much debate over who would be selected for the eventing team, especially given that Team GBR could probably put forward 4 teams all of which could be in contention for a spot on the podium. However, the selectors have made their final decision and our British eventing team is comprised as follows:

• Current world Number 1 Ros Canter and 2 x five star winner Lordships Graffalo
• Laura Collet and 3 x five star winner London 52
• Tom McEwen and J L Dublin Reserve
• Former World Champion Yazmin Ingham and 5 star winner Banzai Du Loir .

All four horses have got incredibly solid form at 4 and 5 * level, which should make for a very exciting competition. We go into the competition as favorites, just ahead of Germany. The removal of a drop score has put more emphasis on horses with solid cross-country form, where a stop or run out, resulting in 20 penalties, will be enough to end the hopes of a team medal. Having said that, the selectors have also had to choose horses which are able to pull off impressive dressage marks and jump well on the last day to secure a spot on the team podium. There will be no shortage of pressure on the shoulders of the riders next week….!

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Yasmin Ingham and Banzai Du Loir - Image Credit Peter Dixon