All competitors taking part in the jumping events at the Royal International Horse Show at the White City next week will hear these words as they enter the arena
But what goes on in the rider's mind during the next vital few minutes? What do the jumps look like from the saddle? How does the horse see the fences? What problems has the course builder set the competitor? Three experts try to answer these questions:
Pat Smythe, famous horsewoman
Eric Ixer, who plans and builds the courses at the White City
and
Dorian Williams, show-jumping commentator
An outside broadcast from Pat Smythe's home at Miserden, in Gloucestershire.