By Margaret Maccoll
After competing last year in Hong Kong, The Netherlands, Germany and finally the World Cup finals in Paris Cooroy showjumper Billy Raymont was last weekend back at the Sunshine Coast Agricultural Show at Nambour.
“It’s nice to get back,” he said. “And these shows on the Sunshine Coast are good shows.”
Billy found the major difference between competing here and overseas was the size of the competitions and the venues.
“Here you might get 20-25. There were 100 in the Grand Prix (in Paris),” he said.
“It’s on a massive scale.”
Billy was pleased his first international tour went well, praising his horse for his coping abilities.
“He flew well to Hong Kong and didn’t miss a beat,” he said. “Sometimes they get a bit flat.”
He attributed his quick flight recovery partly to his attitude and partly to breaking the journey after 11 hours in Hong Kong before the 13-hour journey on to Europe.
Billy will travel to Belgium to compete next month then hopes in August to gain selection on the Australian side competing in the FEI World Equestrian Games in the US in September.
