Rowan Willis, who with the 15-year-old mare Blue Movie (Chacco-Blue x Pilot) was named as the travelling reserve for the Australian team for the Olympic Games, has decided to withdraw.
On his official Instagram account, Willis shared the following statement: "It is with great sadness, that I have come to the tough decision to withdraw as reserve athlete from Australian Olympic Showjumping Team. I have weighed up the options very carefully and consider it in the best interest of my horse Carrots not to undertake such a demanding global travel schedule when the EA have made it clear there is no tactical plan to start her. Carrots & I Thank you for your continued support and we now turn our sights to a busy competition schedule to complete the year. We endeavor to continue showing the world what a special horse she is. We wish the Australian team the best of luck & success in Tokyo and, along with the rest of Australia we will be cheering them on!"