I have always loved the Australian turn of phrase, and “you little beauty” is one of the best as it can be used as a compliment for any horse, person, animal or object, or even an idea. It is also 100 percent positive, and I try very hard to make it a golden rule to live and work from the positive, because it benefits us all. Cross-country day at WEG was a day overflowing with highs and lows, but here are my 10 very special “little beauties.”

1 – Having gone to the Olympics in Hong Kong a year too early and suffered for it, Mandiba came of age yesterday with a brilliant clear round with just 0.8 time penalties. Mandiba was out of a little beauty that I loved dearly, a mare called High Dolly. High Dolly was an extraordinary mix of courage and gentleness with wonderful physical ability. Mandiba is very much her son and now has the door open to fulfilling his huge potential.

To describe what it was like to watch “my” horse go ‘round the cross country at the World Equestrian Games is impossible to do accurately. But I can tell you that I cried—not tears for Mandiba and his brilliant rider, Karen O’Connor, but tears for our little High Dolly, the mare who I first saw by the lights of a car shut in a muck-filled garage in County Clare in the west of Ireland. She was a mare who deserved the limelight and has now achieved it though her extraordinary son. High Dolly was a true little beauty.

2 – I first met Karen O’Connor when she came to me for coaching in New England when she was 14 and riding her superb Connemara pony Erin’s Shamrock. I taught her for two years and took her to her first three-day event at Radnor. I do not claim that I made a huge difference to her at this time because she was already brilliant then, yet did not know it.

Her career has taken many twists and turns since that time. As with most riders the hard times and disappointments have had to be faced, but at the end of the day her character and work ethic always wins through. What makes all the difference is that she has always been a team player. She both builds a great team around her and works for her team. And she delivered for her team yesterday. During the difficult times the “hurlers on the ditch” and assorted “couch potatoes” are always quick to gather round and write off someone like Karen, but yesterday they had to face facts. At the age of 52 she still gets out there and does it successfully at the highest level. Without doubt Karen is a little beauty!

3 – Karen will play a part in our sport for many years to come as she’s already involved in coaching and leadership. Another lady who has made a big impact in recent years is a real beauty: Princess Haya, the extremely active president of the FEI. She loves horses and brings an intelligence and energy to all horse sports that has stirred a few traditionalists at times. Her tenure as President is now under threat at the mid-term of her period of office. The members of the FEI will have to vote and decide whether or not she will continue her work as President and the general opinion in eventing is that this little beauty will remain in her post.

4 – Patricia Ryan from Ireland had high hopes of a wonderful cross-country on her Olympic horse Fernhill Clover Mist. All went well to begin with as this talented rider and horse galloped with their normal fluency around the first half of the course. Soon their disappointing dressage was behind them as confidence grew. Then suddenly Clover Mist bolted after fence 20. Patricia had no idea what had happened; she just knew she was out of control and heading toward the crowds. For about 500 yards and a very long minute we all watched in horror as they galloped flat out with Patricia using every trick in the book to stop him. It was like he had been hit by a cattle prod.

Eventually the horror came to an end as Patricia managed to pull him up. But for Patricia the horror was just beginning as she discovered he had a major hock injury. The tendon running over his hock had slipped off and was obviously the reason behind his pain and his flight across the Horse Park. It is the same injury that finished Biko’s career at the end of the Burghley cross-country with victory in sight for him and Karen O’Connor, and it will finish Clover Mist’s career. But it will not finish the career of Patricia Ryan, because without doubt she is a little beauty.

5 – Mary King at 49 is much older than Patricia Ryan and has had this type of disappointment before. She has also ridden at this Championship level for 20 years. An extraordinary achievement, yet her enthusiasm and skill across country is undiminished, and she gave us all an exhibition of how to do it on her long striding three-quarter Thoroughbred Irish-bred Imperial Cavalier.

Not for her the negative approach of a veteran rider with two children. She attacked the whole course from start to finish. Without coming out of their joint comfort zones and without any great risks, she took all the short routes and the forward stride options. What a joy to watch and what a little beauty is Mary.

6 – Geoff Curran the Irish Army rider on The Jump Jet also rode a classic clear round. It has been his major goal for the last two years with this horse and the major goal of his life to represent Ireland at this level. However up to four weeks ago Geoff Curran did not know he would be at WEG. A disappointing Rolex in the spring had removed him from the first list of Irish hopefuls, and his chance seemed to have gone. So he routed to the Burghley four-star instead and produced a wonderfully exhilarating clear round.

Then one of the team horses was injured just before traveling to WEG, and Geoff was given his chance. He was put on the team—then he went and did the job with style and class. Never give up is Geoff Curran’s motto. He and his philosophy are both little beauties.

7 – We had to wait until almost the end of the day to watch Michael Jung and his dressage leader, La Biosthetique-Sam, go across country. As they say the wait was worth it. It’s rare to see such a well-matched pair. Michael’s great partner pricks his ears from start to finish, and you would swear that Michael does the same. Riding with a totally loose rein for much of the round, Michael rode in a way that can only happen when there is this great trust and bond between horse and rider. Michael jumps Sam every day over all manner of jumps and angles, not only because they both love to jump, but because Michael feels that this is vital to develop the right cross-country instincts and “fifth leg.” He certainly showed the results of this training yesterday.

At the press conference afterwards Michael’s smile and twinkle in his eye showed an Irish quality that I just love. Then he said: “I love this horse. He wants to work with me with all his heart.” At that moment Michael became an honorary Irishman, and as he is not a big man he is also a true little beauty.

8 – But the day had not finished with Michael’s round. There was still Andrew Nicholson to come! Last on the course but first in line for courage and enthusiasm, Andrew threw his horse Nereo ‘round the track like an ambitious teenager. Yet he is now 49 years old and has ridden at the highest level for 29 years! He currently has probably the best string of horses in his life and will be in the hunt for medals today and for the next few years. He is a phenomenon.

He also always has the time and good manners to talk to people and is always searching for a new personal best. Yesterday afternoon he was thinking about how to improve Nereo’s flying changes, as they lost him the few marks in the dressage that may cost him an individual medal today. But on the cross-country he is always totally focused and at ease. It is his domain. On the cross he is just an amazing powerhouse of determination and skill. Despite multiple breaks of his nose, a little beauty!

9 – At the end of the day the competition and sport of eventing were the winners. With team and individual marks so very close, it’s going to be a thrilling final show jumping finale today. Richard Jeffery, the show jumping course designer, has designed and built a stunning course using the same fence material that will be used for the World Show Jumping Championships.

Richard Jeffery rode with me in Pony Club as a child in Cornwall, and my father taught him. He would be the first to admit that my father didn’t do a very good job! At these times and for several years life was not easy for Richard, but he has climbed to the very top of the international show jumping course design tree and is now a brilliant master of his craft. His story is inspirational, and he is a great role model for us all. As are all these top riders at WEG. Exposure to greatness is such an important motivational factor with young people, and without doubt there will be one young person in the audience who will be inspired by their day to achieve greatness in the future—one little beauty!

10 – We finished the day with a party in the Irish village. Nadia Cook-Grisewood and Fleur Bryan have worked their socks off to bring together some gems of Ireland just near the Horse Park exhibition and auditorium area. Their good humor, resilience and enthusiasm is an example of the best line in the world to describe the attributes which all of us should strive for and all good horses have. “I wouldn’t give a thraneen (a low value coin) for a lad that didn’t have a gamey heart and a mighty spirit.”

Irish writer John Millington Synge gave us this mantra, and it is a true little beauty. When you meet with the red-haired superwoman that is Fleur Bryan, you will find another little beauty. Her huge enthusiasm for the Irish Draughts is shown off so brilliantly in the arena by the Irish village. She also has a huge sense of fun and knows that, ultimately, that is what all good sport and WEG is all about. As Willy Wonka said: “A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.”

William Micklem is an international coach and educational and motivational speaker. He is a Fellow of the British Horse Society and author of The DK Complete Horse Riding Manual, the world’s top-selling training manual. He found Karen and David O’Connor’s three Olympic medalists Biko, Giltedge and Custom Made and breeds event horses, including Karen O’Connor’s Olympic horse Mandiba and Zara Phillips’ High Kingdom. He is also the inventor of the Micklem Bridle, which is now approved for use in dressage by the FEI. www.WilliamMicklem.com