Equestrianism: Brash keeps his cool to take gold as Dutch melt away in jump-off

Tuesday 7 August 2012

he pawed at the ground impatiently.

Scott Brash, left, takes Hello Sanctos on a victory lap after winning team gold. Picture: EPA

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Herald Staff

He trotted between the yard and the arena as the tension rose in a steady crescendo. The sudden eruption of noise was startling but he was allowed free rein to celebrate as the final jump was cleared. The final moments of a tense jump-off against the Netherlands had been almost unbearable but Scott Brash will awake this morning as an Olympic champion.

The Scot collected gold in the team showjumping event as the British riders were pushed all the way by the Dutch. Their victory was marked by rapturous applause within Greenwich Park, a fitting response to the first British team in 60 years to win Olympic gold in the sport. As the youngest of the four-strong team – Brash is still only 26 but negotiated the course with maturity on the back of Hello Sanctos – the Peebles rider was gripped by excitement as he stood on the podium to collect his prize. He had been far more composed on the back of Hello Sanctos as he picked up just one fault in the jump-off. The venerable Nick Skelton and Ben Maher had riden flawlessly around Greenwich Park, with Peter Charles completing the victory with another faultless round."They call me Mr Cool," said Brash. "It's what I think of as one of my strong points; I love a bit of pressure, I relish it. My horse jumped unbelievably and got better and better each day. "He dealt with the atmosphere and as long as I read the lines we were going to go well. We had seen the course and knew the fences."The Scot had delivered a faultless display to move GB into the lead ahead of Saudi Arabia before the Dutch drew level. It was an auspicious performance from Brash and one which belied his somewhat uncertain arrival at the Games. "It's fantastic," said Brash. "I was out [the team] then was back in. I'm delighted, especially for the older guys in our team who have worked so hard for years, all the sacrifices, and waited so long for this. I think Nick has done everything in his career except for this gold medal, so it's great that he can tick that box now."There's nothing better than having Nick ride first. If you want to know something he'll help you and he's a joy to watch ride. It gives you great confidence to watch him knowing he's probably going to have a clear round. But every one of us has played a part and I'm delighted to play mine."The gold at Greenwich Park completed a remarkable 24 hours for Scotland that had begun on Centre Court at Wimbledon the previous afternoon with Andy Murray winning men's singles gold. "Murray was fantastic – he's done Scotland proud," said Brash."I don't think it'll be long now before he wins a major. It's amazing how everyone has been right behind the whole of Team GB. I don't think we're going to experience anything like this in our lives again. It's an honour to ride under this Team GB banner."

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Equestrianism: Brash keeps his cool to take gold as Dutch melt away in jump-off

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