Royal thanks go to the owners behind GB’s Tokyo medal haul.
Riders, owners and support staff have attended a reception at Clarence House hosted by Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall to celebrate British success at last summer’s Tokyo Games.
The duchess, who is patron of British Equestrian, met the eventing team of Oliver Townend, Tom McEwen and Laura Collett - and the para dressage squad of Sir Lee Pearson, Natasha Baker, Sophie Wells and individual rider Georgia Wilson.
The duchess also chatted to a number of horse owners and acknowledged the vital role they play alongside the grooms in the teams’ success.
“The owners are so important as, without you, there wouldn’t be any horses,” said Camilla.
“I just want to thank all of you who had this brilliant success at Tokyo, it was wonderful to see medal after medal after medal. Watching on television, it just got more and more exciting.”
The duchess – an accomplished horsewoman - revealed that as a youngster, she used to dream of winning an Olympic medal.
“Thanks to all of you doing it, I can still dream even if it’s not a reality,” she added.
