EUROPEAN SHOWJUMPING & DRESSAGE CHAMPIONSHIPS Venue: Windsor Castle Date: 25-30 August Coverage: Live on BBC Two, the red button and the BBC Sport website (UK only) Full coverage details
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GB team captain wants European silver
The British dressage team have been urged to target an unlikely silver medal at this month's European Championships in Windsor.
Dressage captain Richard Davison laid down the challenge ahead of the first combined dressage and showjumping tournament at continental level.
"We should definitely have a chance for bronze and we could be there for silver as well," Davison told BBC Sport.
To win silver, GB must better one of dominant pair Holland and Germany.
"We have a really good team," Davison told BBC Sport. "But we can't rest on our laurels because there will be a lot of competition for those medals.
Holland are looking amazingly strong at the moment and my money is on them taking the gold
GB dressage captan Richard Davison
"Holland and Germany are out on top, Holland are looking amazingly strong at the moment and my money is on Holland taking the gold."
As well as team medals, individual riders will compete for gold, with the dressage tournament running from Tuesday to Saturday.
Team medals will be won on Wednesday, with further individual medals up for grabs in the Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix Freestyle categories on Thursday and Saturday respectively.
While dressage competitors begin each of the tournament's competitions afresh, with their score reset to zero, riders in the showjumping carry their scores between rounds.
The jumping tournament begins on Wednesday, with the first medals being awarded in the team competition on Friday. The championships conclude on Sunday with the individual jumping final.
The British jumping team have been buoyed ahead of the tournament by the news that they have avoided relegation in the sport's Nations Cup.
Britain had faced dropping to the second tier of the competition - they finished equal on points with Belgium in the second relegation spot above Italy.
But confusion over the rules which separate tied teams means neither Britain nor Belgium will be relegated.
Clare Whitaker, chair of performance development, said: "The current rules are ambiguous, and in the best interest of the sport I believe the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) have made the right decision."
Britain recorded a second-place finish at the final 2009 Nations Cup event in Dublin last month, and will now look to improve upon the bronze medal they won at the 2007 European Championships.
However, the German and Dutch teams are once again the favourites, with the latter holding both the European and world titles, while Switzerland took bronze at the Olympics in Beijing.
Charles rode Murkas Pall Mall H to win the Longines King George V Gold Cup
Peter Charles, this year's Royal International Horse Show King George V Gold Cup winner, heads the British team.
The squad will also include Ben Maher, Tim Stockdale, Robert Smith and Geoff Billington after the preliminary eight-man group was reduced.
Charles, the Liverpool-born former Irish Olympian, will ride Pom D'Ami.
Maher, who was in the GB Olympic squad which finished seventh in Beijing, is aboard Robin Hood W.
Stockdale will compete with Fresh Direct Corlato with Smith set to ride Vangelis S, while Billington will ride Rosinus.
"All five members have had consistent results this year," said British team manager Derek Ricketts.
"Hopefully, horses and riders will be at the peak of fitness for the championships."
Davison, discussing the dressage team for the joint event, said competing on home turf would lend a "natural advantage" to his riders.
"We've won European medals before - in 1993 and in 2003, at Hickstead, again on home soil. I was lucky enough to be part of both of those teams.
"In 2003 we had a strong and consistent team. This team we also have a strong, consistent team but with much higher scores coming in at the top end.
"At Hickstead in 2003 [where GB won bronze] I was the last rider in and the whole crowd were silent, riding it with me. Everybody is going to be riding these horses with the rider."
Britain's dressage hopes rest on the shoulders of 24-year-old star Laura Bechtolsheimer, who Davison said had been "blitzing Europe with fantastic results" in the run-up to the Europeans.
Bechtolsheimer, riding Mistral Hojris, is joined by Emma Hindle on Lancet 2, Carl Hester on Liebling II and Maria Eilberg riding Two Sox.
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