As her attempts to win a place at the 2016 Olympics in Rio intensify, North Yorkshire three-day eventer Nicola Wilson, who won a team silver medal at London 2012, writes about her recent experiences

THE competition season runs from March through to the end of October so we’ve come to the end of things for 2015 now.

It’s been a very long season, but a hugely successful one. We had the European Championships in September where the team managed to come away with a silver medal.

It’s always a privilege to be a part of the team. We were down to three scoring members on the team coming into the show-jumping so it was really was do or die.

It was all a bit like slow-motion as my horse, One Two Many, and I went round. We were hanging on a bit on one particular jump but it was so important for the team that we went round otherwise we wouldn’t have been in with a chance of that silver medal.

It was also a big honour to receive our medals from the Queen who had come up for the final day and the medal ceremony. That’s something that doesn’t happen every day!

ONE Two Many is a very talented horse, he has been fantastic the last couple of years. He’s very capable and fingers crossed he can have a good winter and spring and be in contention for Rio.

It’s very easy to talk about Rio next year, but to be honest there is a lot to take place between now and then.

There’s the winter and then competition and the selection process, so you really can’t think too far ahead.

Eventing and equestrianism is different to a lot of sports as it’s not just the rider who has to be in peak form, but also the horse. A lot of things can happen and impact on your plans.

AFTER such a busy summer it will be nice to have a bit of a break over the winter, both for the riders and the horse.

I don’t normally go away, but my husband and I are actually going to go away for a week somewhere nice and hot to get a bit of sun and relax.

Then it will be back into things, doing our homework on what needs doing for next year, the strength and conditioning work with the horses and working on areas that have been highlighted throughout competing this summer.

Hopefully, we’ll be in a good position to try and make the team for Rio but there are a lot of good riders and horses around at the moment.

There are so many things to consider when it comes to looking after horses and so any little thing that can help you focus more on the horses and your performance together is great.

I actually didn’t have a car until I was sponsored by Nissan, I was using my husband’s one. The dealership in Darlington helped me out, to have a car I can call my own is fantastic and it makes a huge difference, especially at the start and end of the day when you can get in and turn the heated seats on.

Bristol Street Motors, of Darlington, are proud to support Nicola Wilson on her road to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. To find out more about Nissan’s partnership with Team GB, visit nissan.co.uk/uniteandexcite