© Rebecca Walton/Phelps Sports

It is an exciting time for athlete Matt Williams and the team at Wyndmont, Inc., as they count down the last few months before the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Williams has recently been named to the short list to represent his native country of Australia during the Games. 

Before the trek to Brazil, Williams will travel and compete aboard top mount Valinski S in the FEI CSIO5* Sopot Nations Cup June 9-12. It will be a first for Williams, who has never competed in Poland before.

“I’ve ridden horses in Poland, but this would be the first time I compete there,” said Williams, who last represented Australia as part of the Nations Cup Team at HITS Ocala. “We’ll have a good team of riders there. It’ll be nice team bonding.”

Williams and Valinski S seized their first victory together in the $100,000 Sullivan GMC Truck Grand Prix at HITS Ocala. The two took a short break at the end of the winter show season, but are back on form and ready to compete again this spring. 

In order to prepare for Europe, Williams and the Wyndmont team will participate during the first week of the HITS Saugerties Series with Valinski S. Williams and trainer Ronnie Beard will then travel to the Nations Cup in Poland, while Michael Dorman stays stateside with the rest of the Wyndmont team. 

Valinski S and Williams will also compete at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in preparation for the Games, and hope to return to Saugerties for the HITS Million Grand Prix in the fall. 

“We’re going there to get good results, but the main focus will be on having Valinski ready to go after Europe for Tryon and then Rio,” Williams said about the upcoming competition. “It’ll be great to have him jump nice and confident, and to get a couple bigger tracks under his belt again. He’s going to be nice and fresh."

The next few weeks are busy for Williams, Valinski S and the Wyndmont team, but the preparation for Rio has been in motion since the beginning of the year.

Source: Phelps Sports