She called it the "proudest moment in my life -- a great honour''.

But as the Island's most successful ever horse rider, MJ Tumbridge, hoisted the flag and led Bermuda's Olympic Games contingent into yesterday's opening ceremony of the Millennium Games, hers remained something of a bitter-sweet experience.

A year after becoming Bermuda's first Pan-Am Games gold medallist on her appropriately named mare, Bermuda's Gold, Tumbridge still feels her efforts have not been fully appreciated.

Irked by a lack of support from would-be Bermuda sponsors, she's been forced to go it alone.

If not for Patrick and Amanda Rolfe, on whose English farm she lives and trains, her Olympic dream, she says, would have been shattered long before now.

Fittingly, the Rolfes have been brought to Sydney by Bermuda Olympic Association to serve as Tumbridge's groom and manager.

But that might be small compensation for the disappointment of failing to earn the recognition of those in her home country.

After striking gold last August, Tumbridge returned to Bermuda later in the year to receive Government's Athlete of the Year award, hopeful that her success would be met with a flood of corporate support. There was anything but. Despite some initial interest, none of the companies approached felt they were able to help.

Now a somewhat disillusioned Tumbridge says: "If I win a medal here and nobody takes any notice, perhaps I'll go and ride for somebody else.'' The bubbly blonde says it with a smile, and one senses it's not a serious threat. But there's no doubt she feels slighted. Lack of sponsorship meant Tumbridge arrived in Sydney without a back-up horse after Bermuda Olympic Association decided it would be too costly to transport Bermuda's Gold and her replacement, Tunes of Glory, who had also met the qualifying standard.

Tumbridge said she had no qualms about that decision, but would have loved to have had both horses.

"To bring Tunes of Glory over would have been a big expense for them (BOA) and I do understand,'' she said. "However, as we wait for the competition to start we all know anything can happen.

"We'll be a little bit more annoyed if something does happen to Bermuda's Gold and we know we have a very good horse back home. I think it's a bit of a disadvantage having a second horse at home. Let's just hope everything works the way it should.'' That said, the diminutive 35-year-old agrees her preparation so far couldn't have gone better.

"Bermuda's Gold is in very good shape and very much on edge,'' she adds.

"She knows what she's here for, we're just trying to keep her calm.

Of the long trip over from England with more than a dozen other European horses, Tumbridge says her mare handled the journey "magnificently''.

"It was absolutely fantastic. I travelled with the horse, it was about 34 hours from door to door. The flight was amazing ... you know I don't like flying, but the flight was excellent, the horses had no problems whatsoever.

Right off the plane, right onto the truck, an hour's drive and there they were, they all walked off, ears forward and, yeah, like, we know what we're here for.'' Competition in Tumbridge's specialty, the three-day event, is set to begin next Wednesday with the dressage phase.

Cross-country follows on Thursday with the show jumping finale beginning on Friday afternoon.

Continued on page 19 Proud MJ Continued from page 17 "I haven't actually seen the cross country course yet but I understand the ground is very hard, which you expect if there's no rain,'' said Tumbridge.

"I get to ride in the main arena tomorrow which I'm looking forward to. That will be helpful as I can get the horse relaxed with the environment, because it's quite an imposing stadium.

"I've seen a couple of fences -- big and jumpable. Just the type of stuff that Bermuda's Gold enjoys.'' Ironically for a small horse -- one of the smallest in the field -- it won't be the bold jumps or the daunting cross-country fences that will provide Bermuda's Gold with her greatest challenge.

That will come early during the precise art of dressage, a stern test of the horse's composure and discipline.

"I would say that out of the three stages, it's not my strongest,'' admits Tumbridge with a hint of understatement. "What makes it more difficult is that Bermuda's Gold is an alert horse and she notices things she shouldn't be noticing at the time your're doing your test -- things like other people sitting in the stands.

"She doesn't like being on show but lately she's been fairly quiet. I did a fun dressage competition last week and she did very well. She was up there with all the other horses, so we'll see what happens.'' With rivalry here expected to be far tougher than that of the Pan-Am Games, Tumbridge realises she won't be looked upon as one of the favourites.

But she remains quietly confident.

"You can't come all this way and not believe in yourself. After what we've done in the past we have to be confident.

"But the dressage is the key -- it's important that we're up there after the first stage. That's going to be the big thing with my mare, she has to relax.

I know she can do it.'' Golden girl: MJ Tumbridge has failed to attract sponsors despite her Pan-Am gold.