British show jumping prospect Daniel Neilson recently took part in a three-week international competition at Villeneuve-Loubet in the south of France, competing in classes for six-year-old horses and older horses.

The 18-year-old shares his experiences in his first 606 diary.

The show was a big occasion for me and my horses. Going into the tour as an underdog, I felt I had a lot to prove.

Competing against top French riders, such as Hubert Bourdy, Roger-Yves Bost and Eric Navet, a former world champion, it would have been very easy to have gone the whole show without being noticed.

It took two days’ travelling to get to Villeneuve-Loubet, which is in the south of France, about 30 minutes away from Monte Carlo. Lyon was our first stop, where we stayed overnight so the horses could rest.

It’s vitally important that the horses get their rest when travelling long distances, and also maintain their level of water intake and food. Any slight change could really affect performance.

Early the next morning, we set off for the showground. We were the first wagons there, as we arrived three days before the competition was due to begin.

This gave the horses enough time to settle down in their new homes, where they would be living for the best part of four weeks.

Week one

Wednesday soon came and it was time for the trot up. This is a medical test all horses have to pass before they are able to compete.

The vet checks the horse’s passport. It must then trot away and back to the vet, so he can examine that the horse is perfectly sound (not lame). The trot up was a success - all of my horses would be able to compete.

After the first week’s competition, one of my six-year-old horses, Disco, was top of the points list and also won his class on the last day. The other, Varo M, was 10th. The top 10 six-year-olds after three weeks would go forward to the final.



Now it was the turn of my older horses in the senior section - Ungaro, Ionesco du Moulin, known at home as Frenchy, and High Tone Z, who I was campaigning as my top horse.

I used the first few days as more of a practice, to prepare for the competition on the final day of the week.

Knowing the ring a little better and knowing the competition was strong, it was time let the handbrake off for the first time on High Tone Z in the 1.35 big tour, which resulted in my second win of the week.

Week two

After a bad first day, my six-year-olds Disco and Varo M came back strongly, with Disco pulling out yet another win and Varo a top-10 finish to leave me in the same position on the leaderboard as the first week.

I jumped Frenchy in the big tour class one for the older horses. It was a speed class and he is very fast and careful, the perfect combination.

As the field of horses and riders was 100 strong, it was by no means going to be easy. But Frenchy showed good form and came home with the winner’s trophy.

In the Grand Prix, High Tone Z jumped unbelievably well in the first round, leaving no room for error and jumping clear. In the jump-off, everything was going well until the second last jump, the wall.



I was a little up the left hand side and at the same time she moved to the left, jumping over the flag and not in between them, resulting in disqualification.

I took all the blame upon myself and was determined not to make the same mistake the following week.

Week three

The young horses just kept jumping clears, and both qualified for the top-10 final, with Disco topping the points table.

Saturday 1 March being my birthday, I was more than hungry for a win. Varo M had an early draw and proved too good for the rest to follow, holding on for the win.

Frenchy had yet another win in the big tour class one, and a second place on the final day, leaving me feeling good heading into the final event I would ride in the show, the big tour Grand Prix.

High Tone was drawn around 80th, leaving me with plenty of time to study the course. The course builder left no room for error, with difficult bending lines and more than a few gutsy jumps. I would have to be on top of my game to make the jump-off.



There were already 11 clears before me, proving the course could be beaten. High Tone once again rose to the occasion, jumping a faultless round and booking her ticket to the jump-off.

There were no other clears after I jumped, leaving me last to go in the final round.

Roger-Yves Bost,who was second last to go and is always a fast rider in the heat of a jump-off, was clear and, not to my surprise, he was fast.

My warm-up went really well. There was time for one last tactics talk with my main trainer, Jason Moore, before it was my time. The rest of the show had come to a standstill, with all eyes on the main ring.

All I could hear was the ring of that bell. Silence came over Villeneuve-Loubet. All you could hear was the sound of High Tone’s feet hitting the sand as she approached the first fence.

There was no sound of poles falling as the mare pulled out all the stops, finishing with a flyer of a jump.

Finally, the silence was broken with a round of applause. The clock stopped less than three tenths of a second behind Roger-Yves Bost’s time – that’s one click of your fingers difference. It was second place for me.

The three weeks was a great achievement, one of the biggest to date in my show jumping career.

To top it off, I finished as leading rider of the whole tour, definitely leaving the British flag flying in the minds of many on the Villeneuve-Loubet tour.

You can check out my photos here.