Equestrian: Cottle hopes Telegraph sends the right signals

If Telegraph has sent out one signal this season it's that he is likes to be noticed. And John Cottle hopes his 11-year-old stallion will be able to continue that presence overseas.

The pair leave next week for the United States where they will represent New Zealand at the World Cup final.

No other combination has achieved what these two have in a season. They won the World Cup NZ League, the three-star grand prix super league, the mini series, and led New Zealand to an awe-inspiring two-test victory over the Australians.

From 15 grand prix starts, Telegraph and Cottle, a two-time Olympian, won 12, were second in another and third in two.

Last month, they won Cottle's sixth Horse of the Year title and Telegraph's first.

But Clevedon's Cottle is under no illusions that competing against 45 or so of the world's top combinations in Las Vegas will be easy.

The event, held over three days, is indoors. New Zealand horses do not get the chance to compete indoors very much.

"I'm a realist," said Cottle. "The indoor arenas don't suit our horses entirely. He'll jump the jumps, but it is the concentration level."

Ear plugs are out of the question, as Telegraph is difficult enough just to get a bridle on, let alone putting things in his ears.

"Even at the Horse of the Year Show, he was a bit spooky with the crowd and distracted easily. He just needs to get used to the environment," Cottle said.

But put the stunning grey horse into a jump off and it's quite a different story.

"He goes best in jump offs because there is no time to be distracted. Maybe it is a stallion thing."

There's no doubting, the combination has been dynamic in jump-offs this season, slicing corners where others hadn't dared, making it look easy when others had flustered, and coming home with time to spare.

"I have a lot of confidence in this horse," said Cottle, who bred him as part of a programme in Gisborne, sold him as a two-year-old, and was reunited with him only 19 months ago.

It took a while to settle as a team, but winning the national championships in 2003 marked a sign of things to come. They haven't looked back.

Points accumulate over the days of the show, with only the top 20 competing on the final day which is run over two rounds.

"I will be thrilled if the horse goes well," Cottle says.

"If I can make that third day it would be excellent."