A public relations company form Cheltenham has an extra special interest in the British equestrian team’s progress in the Olympics- it was chosen to represent the riders by their governing body.

Target PR, of Cheltenham, is the first PR firm even to work with the riders and was handpicked by the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) for the job.

For the long-established agency it is something of a coup as the federation not only wanted it to help its riders when the eyes of the world were upon them, it also wanted it to help shape the image of the sport.

Sam Kandiyali, associate director of Target PR, said: “We work for the British Equestrian Federation. They are the governing body for the British Olympic equestrian sport. There are three equestrian (eventing, show jumping and dressage) and one para-equestrian event, so we look after those disciplines.

"We started working with them in 2007. This year we have been supporting the riders. Our role is supportive. We are not there in Beijing, we are holding the fort back here.

"Most of our work was done in the build-up to the Olympics. We want to raise the profile of the sport and help get over the elitist image it can sometimes have. That is an ongoing objective."

Anna Greenway, from the BEF said: "We picked Target because we were looking for really good daily nuts and bolts support. Also we wanted someone to provide a different approach and we thought that Target, not being a specialist sports agency, would bring a different approach."

Ms Kandiyali, a horse rider herself, said having worked for the British Horse Society and represented a former gold medallist in eventing had helped in winning the account with the federation. The sheer excitement of being involved with an Olympic team had, the 34-year old admitted, got under the skin of the rest of the team at the Cheltenham Business, they being James Bennett and Pippa Clark.

Target has now been in business for more than 30 years, has had a PR division for more than a decade and employs 10 staff.

The BEF is an umbrella organisation representing the interests of 4.2 million riders, vaulters and carriage drivers in Great Britain via 16 independent member bodies.