The Swedish International Three Day Eventing Team held build up training for the World Equestrian Games at Littleton Manor Equestrian (‘LMEQ’), Reigate.  The Team utilised the facilities that have helped LMEQ attain a prestigious involvement in the build up to London 2012 as one of an elite group of venues that have been asked to be official Pre Games Training Camps where athletes and horses acclimatise before 2012.  

With London 2012 looming LMEQ invited local Councillors to visit to enable them to gain an insight into the dedication required to train international competition horses, tour the centre and meet some of the Swedish riders in contention to form the Olympic Team, including Anna Hilton, Dag Albert and Therese Van Rijckevorsel as well as Chef d'Equipe Gunilla Fredriksson and trainers Maria Gretzer (show jumping) and Elisabeth Lundholm (dressage).  They were also fortunate to be able to spend time with another regular user of LMEQ, Belgium’s leading Event rider Constantin Van Rijckevorsel, a triple Olympian and Bronze medalist at the 2009 European Championships.   Matt Tarrant, centre manager at LMEQ, said “It is an honour to be asked to host team training for such a formidable team as Sweden.  This group of riders and trainers have done pretty much everything that there is to do across dressage, show jumping and eventing and the eventing team will be riding high into the World Equestrian Games off of the back of their fourth place in Beijing.  We wish them every success in Kentucky.”

Mr Van Rijckevorsel explained that Great Britain remains the best place in the world for professional Event Riders to train and compete due to the number of competitions, Eventing’s heritage and the standard of competition saying that Britain was the best country in the world for enabling riders to Event professionally.  Consequently many of the world’s leading riders have chosen to live in Britain, including Van Rijckevorsel, however he said that the provision of excellent training venues still lagged behind those of other equestrian disciplines describing LMEQ as a ‘rare exception’ to this.  He said “Littleton is unique in the South of England being the only venue that can offer all the training facilities needed to get the full benefit out of Team Training.  The Cross Country course is perfect, the gallops provide a fantastic warm up whilst the two arenas and the hospitality offered are truly world class”  

Van Rijckevorsel who himself was based at LMEQ for the build up to the European Championships at Blenheim a few years ago thought it extremely likely that an Equestrian Team would want to take advantage of the exceptional facilities in the build up to the Olympics.  While Tarrant and Farrer said they hoped LMEQ’s role as a Pre Games Training Camp would enable Reigate and the surrounding area to feel a part of the Olympic experience.  Tarrant and Van Rijckvorsel added that they were impressed with the support and enthusiasm that Councilors De Save and Farrer had shown for equestrianism and for Reigate’s involvement in 2012.

For more information contact Matt Tarrant 07771 600033 or visit www.lmeq.com

LMEQ photo 1 27Apr10 shows (from left to right): Cllr Adam De Save, Dag Albert, Elisabeth Lundholm, Matt Tarrant, Cllr Steve Farrer, Therese Van Rijckevorsel, Constantin Van Rijckevorsel