In Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Willie Wonka said it all: “The suspense is terrible… I hope it’ll last.”

Tomorrow the four days of eventing competition start at the World Equestrian Games. For all of us—riders, back-up crews, supporters and owners—there is huge suspense and anticipation as probably the best quality field in the history of the sport unleash their talents in front of the judges.

This suspense and excitement is widespread because there are so many riders and teams that have a genuine chance of a medal. It is a chance that is the result of preparation that had real focus after the Olympics in Hong Kong, but in reality it is the culmination of planning and preparation that for some began over 20 years ago.

Twenty-two years ago in Belgium, William Fox-Pitt and Pippa Funnell won a gold medal for Great Britain in the Young Rider European Championships. Like great rivals in all sports—Coe and Ovett in track, Borg and McEnroe in tennis, Fisher and Spassky in chess—they have stretched and stimulated each other to new levels of excellence over the years.

Pippa was the first to win the Rolex Challenge with back-to-back victories in Kentucky, Badminton and Burghley, and William gathered an unprecedented number of high-level placings with an unprecedented number of different horses.

For good measure William was on the Junior European team with Tina Cook the year previously, winning a silver medal. Now these same three British riders, William, Pippa and Tina are still the powerhouse of this year’s team at the World Championships. They are a testimony to the British training and competition structure that has been led at Junior and Young Rider level for 30 years by their coach Gill Watson and at Senior level by Yogi Breisner.

Their system has consistently produced championship riders and championship horses with longevity. This is the real secret because they have managed to avoid over competing and testing their horses, unlike other countries who sometimes make the selection process a “survival of the fittest” process that wastes horse power. Using a majority of Irish horses has helped here, but it is more to do with wise heads at the top.

A Family Affair

There is another type of long-term training that leads to success—exposure to family greatness. Ingrid Klimke grew up surrounded by her father Reiner Klimke’s clutch of 11 gold medals and world famous Grand Prix dressage horses. It was therefore not a surprise that she should become a star in her own right, and now she’s part of the very competitive German team in Kentucky. The Germans are the favorites of many experts, and they are certainly looking forward to these championships with a new sense of confidence and strength in depth.

In 1978 when the World Championships were last held at Kentucky, the individual gold was won by Bruce Davidson of the USA on his gray Thoroughbred Might Tango with John Watson of Ireland winning the silver on Cambridge Blue.

Now Bruce’s son Buck and John’s son Sam renew their rivalry. No one could deny that the most important part of Buck and Sam’s success at elite level has been the stimulus of the extraordinary achievements of their fathers.

Of course no team will have more support and pressure than the USA team. It is a very good team with riders of the highest quality and we all expect them to be competitive, but the Germans and British are in the same position, and no one should rule out the French or the Irish or those great masters of the sport from Australia and New Zealand. And David O’Connor has done a terrific job with the Canadian team.

David is famously competitive and has formed a real bond with his team, but he will have torn loyalties with his wife Karen O’Connor on the USA squad with Mandiba.

As will I as the breeder of Mandiba, yet in love with my home country of Ireland. Oh the suspense! What wonderful days!

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William Micklem is an international coach and educational and motivational speaker. He is a Fellow of the British Horse Society and author of The DK Complete Horse Riding Manual, the world’s top-selling training manual. He found Karen and David O’Connor’s three Olympic medalists Biko, Giltedge and Custom Made and breeds event horses, including Karen O’Connor’s Olympic horse Mandiba and Zara Phillips’ High Kingdom. He is also the inventor of the Micklem Bridle, which is now approved for use in dressage by the FEI. www.WilliamMicklem.com