Findon eventer Cook is going for gold at Olympics

The Findon-based rider travelled up to London on Tuesday with the rest of the Team GB eventers, ahead of their start on Saturday, with a sense of nerves, excitement and apprehension.

The experienced rider won two bronze medals in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics, so is no stranger to the pressure, and she will again ride Miners Frolic, hoping to add a gold medal to her collection.

The 41-year-old almost lost her beloved horse to a life-threatening illness last year, before her father, well-known trainer, Josh Gifford, died of a heart attack in February.

From carrying the hopes of the nation on her shoulders, Cook admitted it still brings nerves and said: “Yes, of course it does, you couldn’t help but have an adrenalin rush. Everything just seems to be 24 hours a day as well at the moment. It’s all over the television and all the children are talking about it.

“It’s very exciting, but when you’ve got a horse you need to keep it working and fit and, as it gets so close, you want to know it’s all going well.

“We had a training camp at Adlington last week where all five of us got together as we are all from different parts of the country, so it was good to all get together.

“About 98 per cent of the year we have been competing against each other, we all know each other very well, but to have all five of us together when we know we have been selected and are not fighting each other for a place is good.

“We’re not going just to be seen, we’ll be putting in our best shot, but it’s the most open Olympics for a long time. But we are all going there to give it our best and we will all have to put in personal-best performances.”

Cook’s five team-mates are the Queen’s grand-daughter Zara Phillips, William Fox-Pitt, Georgina French and Mary King.

Cook admitted she is just taking it a day at a time and trying not to think of possible problems that may affect her or Miners Frolic in these final few days before the first event on Saturday.

She said: “The time from the selection has been 46 days, but it seems like 46 years. It’s amazing there has been so much to do, but the last 10 days has gone so quick as we are getting so close.

“If the horse gets an injury now, you know it’s too late to do anything. If they get a bit of a cold or are off colour, it’s too late for antibiotics, but you have to just take each day at a time.”

As well as her training, Cook also has had to juggle being a full-time mum to seven-year-old Isabella, and five-year-old Harry.

She added: “It’s very exciting for them. With Beijing, they were only one and three, so young that they didn’t really understand. This time around they are thinking, mum’s doing something quite important.

“I am going to be able to have them up there for a day and show them around and it’ll mean a lot more to them, but then I will have my time to focus.”

The team and individual eventing competitions run at Greenwich Park from Saturday to Tuesday, when the finals are held.