Just a few weeks ago I found myself standing at the in-gate in my brand-new, never-been-worn, impossibly white pants, trying not to get slobbered on by a pony.

As I evaded his prehensile lips, it washed over me again that minutes earlier I’d just ridden in my first mini-prix. (Woohoo!) I had hopped off Fiona and then hustled over to the short-stirrup ring to coach Boots (our cookie-crazed, mouthy pony) and his child.

Well, it's over. The last Australian horses, Valinski and Fedor, left on Sunday afternoon, after I had to say goodbye. Saturday and Sunday morning were spent washing stable laundry, collecting and turning in Aussie federation equipment and packing trunks.

But then, I was gone, away from the horse I have spent three intense weeks with. 

And it was intense. Not in a bad way at all, but in a constantly focused way. I hate making mistakes, and at this level, mistakes rarely happen. I made a few, was mortified, but corrected them quickly and learned and moved on.

COTH blogger and Olympic commentator Steven Wilde relays his emotions at seeing Nick Skelton take the title. "I've always tried to maintain a little professionalism along the way but when I called home the gold in Rio I don't mind telling that there were tears running down my face," he wrote.

Nick Skelton’s Fédération Equestre Internationale record spans back more than four decades, and he’s ridden on winning teams for Great Britain on multiple occasions, but he’s never won an individual medal at the Olympic Games—until now.