By Annabelle Tukia
Two members of New Zealand's medal winning eventing team arrived in Christchurch a bit earlier than the rest of the Olympians today – to help some of the country's up and coming young riders.
But it was just a fleeting visit for Andrew Nicholson and Jonathan Paget as they both head back to the UK to compete at the Burghley horse trials next week.
Paget and Nicholson were at the National Equestrian Centre sharing some of the knowledge that helped them secure a team bronze in the three day eventing at the London Olympics.
“I work with Mark and Andrew and they pass down advice to me and they helped and I’m sure they had help doing that for them,” says Paget.
“If I can do that for Katie and the other people I help, it's great.”
It was also a chance for some budding young equestrian fans to meet their Olympic heroes.
Next week the pair will compete at the Burghley horse trials - one of the most prestigious events on the competition calendar.
For Nicholson in particular, a lot's riding on his Burghley performance – he's currently well placed to clinch the HSBC Classic, the overall championship for the season.
“At the moment I’m in second place,” he says.
“If I can win Burghley I can take a chance of winning that overall as well – the last competition is Burghley, it’s been running since November.”
Carrying a prize purse of £150,000 and the potential to secure Nicholson the top spot on the world leader board – that would no doubt cap off a stellar year for Nicholson and the New Zealand eventing team.
3 News