Raising the bar

A GRAPH plotting show jumper Nicola FitzGibbon’s year would show it reaching its zenith at the Dublin Horse Show, only to hit a deep trough at the European Championships in Madrid in September.

In Dublin the Kildare rider shrugged off her semi-professional status but in Madrid she showed herself to be a rookie. That performance was accompanied by the pain of failing to qualify for the London Olympics.

Unsurprisingly, FitzGibbon questioned herself and, unsurprisingly for those that know her attitude, she sought to turn it into a positive. This proved to be the realisation that, if she was going to make it, she needed to tap into the experience of others. Cue a training stint with Sweden’s European champion Rolf-Goran Bengtsson, who rides out of a yard north-west of Hamburg, Germany.

“I went on a fact-finding mission to Rolf’s for a week in December,” she said. “I got to ride some great horses and had the best of training with Rolf and Bo Kristofferson, his business partner. Importantly, I also got on with all the people there.

“I enquired about a couple of other riders, including Switzerland’s Beat Mandli, but like most of the top riders he is away much of the time, but Bo is around seven days a week, which means I will get the full benefit of my time there.”

FitzGibbon is unlike most of her compatriots in that she is, fundamentally, a one-horse trick. That with her gelding Puissance she answered the questions posed by manager Robert Splaine ensured her a deserved place among her more professional team-mates in the European Championships. But from day one, she was in trouble, struggling through the treble. Hopes of a return to form were not foremost on Puissance’s mind: 21 faults day two.

“The problem on day one was that I made a mistake coming into the treble. That knocked us off our stride. I aimed on the second day to go well, that there would be a problem had not even crossed my mind.

“I had not realised how much the first day had affected my horse, that had never happened before,” says the Kildare-based rider.

All athletes work on their confidence, focus on the goal. Equine sports are unique in that the confidence of two athletes is at play. The fact that one is mute, ie the horse, doesn’t help.

“As a rider, you need to have confidence in your horse and not have to go into one of the world’s top competitions knowing your horse is not in form. Mentally, it was extremely difficult to focus on what needed to be done. Normally, if your horse has a bad experience, you have time to undo the damage and rectify it and give them time. He was spooked by day one and remembered what had happened as the competition progressed and I didn’t have that time to work on it.”

Despite this and the fact superstar Denis Lynch had thrown in a shock run-out at the first fence on day one, the team was still holding onto one of the three Olympic places on offer by the deciding competition on day three, with Shane Sweetnam solid and Billy Twomey firing on all cylinders.

But, again FitzGibbon struggled, posting 20 faults, Lynch and Sweetnam were lukewarm and even Twomey’s dream for individual honours came crashing down.

“Obviously, I was massively disappointed for the team,” says FitzGibbon. “We went there with high expectations. Everyone was supportive of everyone else. There were no fingers pointed. Just a general collective heartbreak. At the time, it was not about my own confidence, I went in to contribute to the overall team score, but it wasn’t to be.

“In hindsight, though, my confidence did take a knock,” she says candidly. “But I spoke to the top riders in Madrid and they told me it had happened to the best of them. Most of all, though, is that it happened at the European Championships. I felt there was more pressure in Dublin, the crowd willing on their home team. In Madrid, there were hardly any spectators, you were only putting pressure on yourself. But it has made me stronger and I do not feel I have to prove myself, I did that many times throughout the year.

“I’ve also had huge support since. I have a blog and, to be honest, I was expecting a lot of disparaging remarks, but it was the opposite. I was touched by the support that everyone was openly showing for me and my horse. It helped my shaken self-belief.”

FitzGibbon who, for want of a better word, celebrated her 24th birthday in Madrid, uses the services of sports hypnotist Zak Powers, who helped boxer Steve Collins in his world title defence against Nigel Benn. She has a recording of his self-hypnosis techniques on her iPhone.

“I had chat with Zak. He said I had dealt with it very well and had taken away the positives and left behind the negatives,” says FitzGibbon, a TCD electronics graduate.

For all that, you sense that a residue of the Madrid meltdown remains and that, by opening up, she can erase it from her psyche. In essence, though, FitzGibbon is smart enough to recognise this is all about progression.

“I have two very good six-year-old horses in Penny Lane and Astilbe B. Penny had plenty of travel around Europe this season and is very promising. Astilbe B is a bay gelding and is Dutch-bred. I’ve had him since July, but his work has been intermittent, as I’ve been away a lot,” says FitzGibbon, who sourced both through Swiss-domiciled Irish rider Niall Talbot. “It is great to have promising horses, where you can see results from your work.

“My main horse, Puissance, is only 15 next year and has plenty of life in him yet, but he won’t be competing until the outdoor shows.”

As for herself.

“Really, I am putting everything I have into making a career of show jumping. I am talking to a number of people about riding their horses next year and I am hoping to pick up a couple of rides when I am abroad.

“The sooner I can go away the better. I really feel I could be making much better use of my time.”