This way I’ve lived the perfect British groom's dream. And that's been a dream of mine forever to do the Olympics.
It took time, hard work, motivation, devotion; and then there I was.
The Olympic Games isn't just a dream for riders - for many grooms, working at a Games is something they work towards their whole career.
British jumping groom Derren Lake (Ben Maher) has closely missed out on more than one Games.
But his much awaited first Olympic experience was one of dreams coming true, not just being at the Games but coming away with a Team Gold medal.
Our Executive Director Lucy caught up with Derren to talk about his Olympic journey.
So, Derren, tell me about your Olympic experience.
It was a very special one being my first Olympics. The Olympics in itself: for the horses the conditions were absolutely amazing. The people were amazing. The atmosphere was amazing.
To be able to do an Olympic Games with Ben and Dallas was incredible.
I love this horse with all my heart. She's so special and very sensitive.
How many years did you wait for your Olympic experience?
40 years. Finally I get to do it after the 4th attempt.
Unfortunately, with my last riders, we just missed on the last hurdle, so that was quite disappointing.
But to be able to get the chance to go and win the Gold with my rider was very, very special.
What was that medal ceremony like?
Very emotional. Dallas is very sensitive so I had to calm her down a bit but she recognized I was there and took comfort from that and settled down.
So she was very chilled in the end in the prize giving, which surprised me very much. But she took it all in, and she coped with the pressure.
What did it feel like to hear the national anthem when you were stood there?
I got goosebumps, and I was very emotional. I think I was crying, actually.
I shouldn't have had my telephone, but I wanted to record that bit so I'd never forget the moment… although I wouldn't forget it anyway.
Then I thought ‘oh, what am I doing? I shouldn't be on my phone!’…
It was a very proud moment.
I don't think that it gets any bigger than that
So, you said you missed out on three Games before?
Yes, I didn't go to three Games. That was very hard.
The first one was Barcelona 1992, I was quite young so that didn't really bother me at that time.
That was with Rodrigo and Nelson Passoa. I was very inexperienced so that was the reason in the end why I didn't go.
In 2008 it was Hong Kong with a German rider, Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst. We just missed out on the last show.
The horse was a bit sore somewhere, and it just didn't work out. So that was very, very disappointing for me.
And the last one was with Alexandra Thornton with Cornetto where we nearly made it for the Olympics, but at the last minute we were second reserve to go.
So that was a big thing to take on the chin. But it is what it is.
And four years later, I was with Ben in Paris and we won the gold. So I couldn't be any happier; that's the best moment in life.
So you didn't go to kitting out? Why was that? [Team GB grooms attend kitting out with their athletes, and this year were included in official photos]
I was on the way to a show in Stockholm, and the kitting out was the Wednesday, which was actually the day I arrived at the show.
So that was a disappointment, but it was okay. They asked me for my sizes, shoe size and waist size and shoulder size, and I got all my stuff delivered to Aachen a week later.
And, from that moment on, I knew my dream was coming true.
And some of the other riders you mentioned aren’t British - if you'd gone to the Games with them, you wouldn't have been wearing Team GB kit?
Exactly - Germany for Alois, Brazil for Rodrigo.
