Olympic spirit alive at Target PR

It’s been a quiet couple of weeks at Target. No, not quiet in terms of us sitting at our desks twiddling our thumbs – there’s plenty of work to be done, but an eerie silence has replaced the ohhs and ahhs of the fortnight of the Games.

No more shrieks, words of encouragement or gasps of despair (mainly due to buffering broadband) as we watched Team GB make it their most successful Olympics in more than 100 years. And while we were all caught up in the whole buzz of the Games, it was Greenwich and the equestrianism which was a particular favourite. Through our work with the British Equestrian Federation and its World Class Programme, we’ve been lucky enough to work with, and visit, a number of the 2012 riders’ yards, so we eagerly followed our equestrian stars on their glorious road to victory.

And what a road it was. Team silver for the eventers, team gold for the showjumpers – their first medal since 1952 and gold for the dressage team too, another record - Britain’s first in this event. Meanwhile ‘golden girl’ Charlotte Dujardin made it a double, with gold in the individual dressage (with a score that set a new Olympic record), while Cirencester based Laura Bechtolsheimer picked up the bronze. Even those of us less familiar with the four legged athletes couldn’t help break a sweat when it came to those final tense moments; the last jump, centre line or cross country time.

And so the drama is over, but only for now. Next week (29 August) sees the start of the Paralympics, where Team GB aims to bring home 103 medals. Our para-equestrian dressage riders will also take to the world stage, including the nine-time gold medal Paralympian Lee Pearson, who with a 100 percent success rate, aims to make 2012 the Games where he proves he’s the most successful Paralympian ever.