The Olympic Gold medallist was absolutely delighted with her horse: “She’s just getting better and better. I think she’s really starting to trust me and realize it’s not the end of the world when she goes into the dressage arena. Each time she goes in and doesn’t lose her mind it’s a step in the right direction. I’ve had her for nearly three years and it’s been a process of figuring out her brain. She can do all of the moves apart from the changes when she’s relaxed. She only makes mistakes from wanting to do it right. Her trotwork is stunning, the next step is to get the canter just as secure. I’m absolutely over the moon with her.”

Laura Collett is now looking forward to tackling Mike Etherington-Smith’s cross-country course on Saturday: “The track should suit her. It’s a five-star course and she’s not a proven five-star horse yet but hopefully at the end of the weekend we can say that she is. The first water is serious. It comes very much up in your face. But I think they’ve been very kind in that there’s a get out of jail card. If things go wrong in the first part you can take a long route. There are questions all the way round, so you’ve got to be on your game all the way round.”