There could not be a more perfect place to hold these prestigious championships - Vilamoura is a 15th Century Fishing Village which has been privately owned since the early 1960's. Some 7 years ago this "fishing village" hanged ownership and since then it has become a place where they could and possibly do film "lifestyles of the ricj and famous"!

Vilamoura is a village for which the Marina is the central focus of life generally - this is where all the action is, both day and night! By day you can saunter down the magnificent walkways, which are notably spotless, enjoying the incredible views or shop to your hearts content for everything from the bargain priced jewellery through to the euro1.5million seacraft - it is all here in Vilamoura!

from 12noon till 2.30pm each day when locals either go home for a leisurely lunch or have a snooze in readiness for the long evenings and for the tourist there are long lunches at one of the many excellent and reasonably priced restaurants along the waters edge!

And this is the place for the European Championships in Showjumping for Young Riders and Juniors from 22 attending nations!

Many of the riders who will be competing at these Championships arrived in Vilamoura on Saturday and Sunday to acclimatise their horses to the warmer conditions than many are used to and the stables amazed us on our arrival - virtually every country has come fully equipped with fans for the horses and many have equipment such as nebulisers to assist horses with the dryness which again they would not be used to.

The stables have been a hive of activity as hard working grooms set up "their" areas and give them the flavour of the country they represent!

The "dressings" for the stable areas are amazing and are only surpassed by the gear trunks and accessories at each section!

The level of professionalism belies these teams youth - make no mistake, they are serious riders

who are here to win medals in both individual and team competiton and the easy lifestyle and "holiday" weather were enoyed by all for the first few days but as of Tuesday, the stable area was a "working environment" with Trainers and Chefs in each camp meeting with the riders regularly and training at varying times throughout the days - the Trainers also liaise with the grooms monitoring the horses to ensure maximum fitness and health.

There is no doubt in anyone's mind that a number of the riders we see here this week will be representing their countries at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and quite possibly some of the horses here will be on World Equestrian Games teams and Olympic Teams!