A FUND-RAISING drive is under way to help a British team on the road to victory at this summer's World Equestrian Games in Spain.

The event will be held over the first two weeks of September in Jerez and is a truly international competition, with horses and riders converging from all over the world.

Disciplines include show jumping, dressage, three-day eventing, driving and vaulting.

Most of these events involve one rider and one horse, with perhaps a second in reserve. In this case getting to Jerez is a relatively simple matter of a long slow, drive through Europe with a horsebox or truck.

However, one of the sports requires much more organisation and money to make the journey.

Chef d'Equipe - or manager - of the British horse carriage team Bob Johnston, of the Fosse Manor Hotel, near Stow, explained: "In horse carriage driving each team uses four horses and keeps one in reserve. These, along with the carriages and everything else, need to be transported to Spain, a journey that will take three days.

"It costs £10,000 to finance one team and we have four," he added.

Once there, the teams will face a gruelling test of agility, endurance and skill. "It is a three-day event," said Mr Johnston. "We do dressage on day one, a marathon on day two and cones on day three."

The marathon on day two is a gruelling event with eight hazards along the way. Drivers choose the route that suits them best and then it is a simple matter of speed. After this exhausting race the teams have to demonstrate agility and skill on the cone course. "It is a lot more than just trotting around," added Mr Johnston.

He said that Britain has as good a chance as any, despite the sport having a higher profile on mainland Europe. "We can muster about a dozen teams in this country," he said, "but in Germany there are about 80 teams. It is more of a sport on the continent; thousands of people go to watch it. Here spectators are usually drawn from the family and friends of the contestants." He added that Sweden is currently the top nation with Holland also in contention.

Part of Mr Johnston's role as Chef d'Equipe is to select the four teams. This difficult task starts after the first few events of the season to give an idea of current form. "No-one wants to put their name on the line at the moment because they are superstitious - they think that something will go wrong if they announce they are going," he said.

Mr Johnston is well qualified to manage the British team having a proven track record in the sport. "I used to drive myself and was national champion in 1992," he said. At the 1993 championships in the USA, at which Mr Johnston represented his country, 128 horses were transported from Dusseldorf airport by Jumbo Jet.

Although transporting the 20-horse British team to Spain may seem a relatively simple task, there is still the matter of £40,000 to be considered.

"We are raising money at the moment because we do not get any backing from any bodies," said Mr Johnston. To keep British hopes alive Mr Johnston and his wife Yvonne have embarked on a programme of fund-raising events.

The effort began last week with a Spanish evening held in a marquee at the couple's Cotswold hotel. The Spanish evening complete with flamenco dancers, tapas and wine may have raised as much as £10,000.

For more information about the British horse carriage team or to help with fund-raising call Bob Johnston on 01451 830354.