How was your first Olympic Games?
The whole Olympic experience was great and I was really excited and motivated by the whole event.
How gut-wrenching was it to just miss out on a medal at the Rio Olympic Games?
It was really disappointing to miss out on the team medal when we had one hand on it. Overall, I was really happy with how I went at my first Olympics but a medal would have been better.
Post Olympics you got injured and then took some time off, can you tell us why?
My first competition back after the Olympics I had really bad pain in my back and shoulder so I had some time off and that was the start of feeling like I needed to take a break from the sport.
That culminated in my horse Balmoral Sensation picking up an injury just before the World Championships.
It was a frustrating time period because he was going really well and I felt like we were on track for a really good performance at the World Champs but it wasn’t to be.
How did that time off help?
I didn’t do any eventing for nine-months and that was good, now I’m feeling really motivated and focussed. It was starting to feel like a bit of a drag and my heart wasn’t in it.
There was a bit of a mind shift during that time off, I don’t know when it happened but by the time the end of the eventing season came around I was really passionate and motivated and now I’m really looking forward to Tokyo.
What have you got planned between now and Tokyo 2020?
My first goal is to get myself and my horses qualified for Tokyo 2020 and then I just want to be super focussed and leave no stone unturned as I work towards Tokyo. It feels like I have unfinished business at Olympic level.
At Tokyo I want to win a medal, team first and individual second. It won’t be easy to do but the last Olympics showed we could be competitive at the very top level.
[caption id="attachment_6583" align="alignnone" width="5568"]
New Zealand's Clarke Johnstone on Balmoral Sensation competes during the Eventing's Individual Jumping of the Equestrian during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games at the Olympic Equestrian Centre in Rio on August 9, 2016. / AFP / John MACDOUGALL (Photo credit should read JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images)[/caption]