Seymour saddled up and ready for Rio

Cape Town - Two years after setting her sights on the Rio Olympics, South African equestrian ace Tanya Seymour is on the verge of realising her dressage dreams.

Seymour and her horse Ramoneur qualified a spot for Team South Africa in Perl, Germany last year and on 14 July this year her spot on Team South Africa was confirmed.

Last minute organisation has meant that 32-year-old Germany-based Seymour has had little time to actually let the reality of Rio sink in.

"The last few months leading up to Rio haven’t left much time to be nervous. I had no idea how much behind the scenes work was involved in organising and paperwork but of course completely worth it.

"I can admit that now that we’re entering into the last week I’m starting to get excited," she told SASCOC website.

"When I’m finally on the plane and we land in Rio, it will hit that I will be part of the Olympics, a life-long dream.

"I can’t wait to meet the fellow athletes and be part of the whole Olympic atmosphere. And I’m sure the opening ceremony will be one of my most memorable moments in my life.

"We starting aiming for Rio shortly after WEG (World Equestrian Games) in Caen in 2014. It’s amazing how fast the time has flown by. Our main focus after WEG was to work on my horse’s connection and improving his overall strength.

"The hard work paid off with our scores increasing by 5%. This resulted in our great round in Perl last year where we won the individual spot for SA. It has been such an amazing journey and a life long dream to represent SA at such a high level. It’s been a result of years of hard work and amazing support from all around the world making this happen."

And now the dream is about to happen.

"I've dreamed of this since I was a child, and to be part of making our mark (SA) on the international scene has been incredible. We will do the best we possibly can and hope we can make the South Africans proud."

While in Rio, Seymour will be assisted by manager and coach Ingeborg Sanne while Ramoneur will be in the trusted hands of groom Kirsty Taylor.