Thursday arrived, and it was another glorious day in paradise - the sun was shining, the thermometer sat on a pleasant 28degrees celcius and a gentle breeze kept everyone from getting scorched!

Finally for the riders, the time had come to begin the job they had traveled to Vilamoura in Portugal to do - jump for their countries. Many of the riders have already been in Vilamoura for some 5 days and they enjoyed their first leisurely days, lapping up the sunshine and for some, like the Irish, finally getting some colour after a less than perfect Irish summer!

The Opening Ceremony saw the riders coming out by country and we give you a sample of some of the teams - over the coming days we will be bringing you many photos - but we know that there are readers waiting anxiously for the results of the competitions so we will be making that our priority.

Some teams were small in number but huge in heart - Azerbaijan had just the one representative in the Junior competiton and Israel had one Young Rider and one Junior combination - it is great to see these countries who are perhaps not generally known for being strong in showjumping, fielding riders in these competitions.
The "mainly girl" teams certainly attracted attention from the onlookers and above we see Norway and Sweden! The British Team below right have that "done this before" look on their faces and no doubt they were keen to "get on with the job" they were in Portugal to do!

The Irish team, after discussion about "what to wear" looked very smart in their green jackets above right.
Below left: the Italian team were quite obviously "happy to be here" and they never stopped smiling as they paraded around the suprb showground arena, arms linked all the way!

The Portuguese Team, our hosts this week, are seen above right and they are a delightful group who seem to have smiles which never leave their faces - and they are so very helpful when any of the visitors have been lost, or even just looking lost - these Young Riders and Juniors are wonderful ambassadors for their country.
This being jumpingaround.com's first European Young Rider and Junior Championships, there are several things which have stood out as very special about them - the first is the professionalism of the riders who are aged between 16 and 21 years. But the "flip side" to these rider's professionalism is that they are still "kids" in so many ways and the family support is so obviously important to the riders.

We are enjoying the warmth extended to us by the Irish teams and their families who are great fun to

spend time with - we are almost feeling like "honorary Irish" and no doubt by the end of the week here we will head home with Irish accents rather than Portuguese ones! Over the coming days we will bring you "our Irish friends" at play and work in Vilamoura.

Above left we have the Duffy family, whose son Martin is riding Noel Kavanagh's stallion Quiletto. Martin has only been riding this lovely dark 10 year old stallion for less than a month and was very pleased to earn his place on the Irish Junior Team. Mum and Dad Duffy are pictured here with the littlest brother, while Martin's sisters are in America for the summer.

Couldn't resist bringing you the photo left - two "mates" stopping for a chat amidst the bustle around them - and they looked so peaceful and engrossed in their conversation!

For those wanting results please click below on page two - the photos will be going up later in the evening Portuguese time so please check back later this evening if you are night owls, or in the morning if you want your sleep!

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