Well here we are, at the end of 2012 and apparently, the end of the world is near. For those of us who have been in the equestrian scene throughout 2012, it’s been a year full of highs and lows. It's a well-known fact that during the Olympic years, things get crazy, and 2012 has been no different. It all started for me with a rushed trip to Europe, then, within the space of two weeks I was in Poland at a horse show sitting in minus thirty degree temperatures, trying to start my qualification process for the Olympic games. I always knew it was going to be a busy year with trying to qualify as a rider and going as a coach to the eventers, but it turned out to be very manageable and a lot of fun on the way. Now looking forward we have to plan for the next Olympic cycle and since London there has been some really positive things put forward towards changing what we do, how we do it, and how we go about trying to win the next medal. It’s no secret that our eventing team offers us the best chance at winning a medal, and whilst in all other disciplines we have to be really strong and try to improve, the eventers really offer us a chance to try to put ourselves back at the top of the world in equestrian sports.

Across the disciplines we need to make sure that we’re working together to try and improve and this is probably something that we haven’t been doing enough in the past. We need to allow the dressage to improve to then follow on towards improving the dressage in the eventing scene. Likewise, if the showjumping were to improve in a nice, steady way that also can have a flow-on effect for the eventing. If the eventers then become strong, perform well – as they have done in the past – and deliver us some medals, I’m sure that the country will gain more confidence, in our sport and also with government funding being a major part of our life-blood, perhaps the government will, again fund us through to ongoing Olympic campaigns. This challenge sits in front of us in 2013, and nobody in the equestrian sport is immune from taking on the challenge. We all play a vital role, no matter how small, towards our Olympic success, and whilst some of us get the opportunity to go down the tunnel on the main day, it’s the country that our athletes represent, and it has to be an effort from the entire country. As 2013 approaches I’d like everybody to take a moment to reflect back over 2012 and what each and every one of us could do better, and then try and apply that in 2013. Sometimes doing something better is doing nothing at all, and other times it means reviewing what we’ve done and trying to do it better as a team effort going forward. On that note, I’d like to wish everybody a happy and safe Christmas, and a bright and energetic 2013.

Written by Brett Parbery, exclusively for Equestrian Life.