ABPSL Olympic Blog (by Jean Llewellyn)

André Paro and Land Heir (BRA)/Photo: Peter Llewellyn

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Monday, August 11

Please click on the “Dressage” category for the sad news regarding Nilo VO.

By the end of the eventing cross-country day, team Germany had overtaken the Australians by a slim margin of just 3.90 penalties, thanks to brilliant rounds from Hinrich Romeike/Marius – who took the individual lead – and Ingrid Klimke/Abraxxas. Meanwhile, Great Britain moved into the bronze medal position going into the final showjumping phase. According to Romeike, who always finds time to smile when he’s out on the course, “It was very hard work, very twisty. I smile when I feel the horse doing a great jump. He did a perfect job today, maybe the job of his life.”

Always the most exciting phase of any three-day event, the Olympic cross-country course was constructed on land occupied by the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Beas River Equestrian Centre and ran for several kilometers across an adjacent golf course a 20-minute drive from the main stadium complex. The underground drainage system alone was a phenomenal undertaking designed to provide the best possible footing for the worst-case weather scenario, and although today dawned very overcast but relatively dry, by the mid-way point a monsoon-like rain swept the area creating very slick conditions.

Brazil's Jeferson Moreira riding Escudeiro

The 4.8 kilometre extremely serpentine and undulating course was slightly shorter than normal, and British course designer Mike Etherington-Smith set an extremely tight eight-minute time limit which resulted in every rider incurring time penalties. The 29 obstacles included 10 combinations and three water complexes that illustrated many of the architectural and cultural wonders of China, with pagodas, a panda playground, the great wall, the stone forest, and crouching dragons. Of all the obstacles on the course, the 9A, B and C combination, a very tricky line of brush fences called the Yu Garden, claimed the most run-out victims (12). (See below for a description of these fences.)

This beautifully built course saw no major incidents, and only eight riders (less than 12 percent) were eliminated as a result of falls or multiple run-outs (technical refusals), which was extremely gratifying for the eventing world and equestrian sport in general. Although a later report confirmed that Keymaster, ridden by Sweden’s Magnus Gallerdal, went lame after safely completing the course, and an x-ray revealed a hairline fracture of the pastern bone which “isn’t an uncommon injury” according to FEI veterinarian Dr. Leo Jeffcott. The horse was immediately scheduled for surgery at the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s state-of-the-art medical clinic at Sha Tin racetrack. 

Saulo Tristao (BRA) riding Totsie/Photo: Peter Llewellyn

It is especially worth mentioning that three of the four Brazilian team members finished safely, with a delighted André Paro giving a victory salute and a loud “whoop” as he crossed the finish line with Land Heir in 43^rd place – moving up 12 places overall. Marcelo Tosi and Super Rocky also completed a very stylish round in 9:02 minutes, clear of jumping penalties, and in 37^th place (63^rd after the dressage), while Jeferson Moreira and Escudeiro came home in 45^th (51^st after the dressage). Only Saulo Tristao and Totsie were eliminated, following refusals at 9B and 9C, the second and third elements of the tricky Yu Garden obstacle, and a decisive refusal at 28, the second of two pagodas.

Following the same starting order as the dressage phase, the pathfinder on the course at 8:00 a.m. was double individual Olympic gold medalist (1984 and 1988 ) Mark Todd and the New Zealand-bred Gandalf, who produced a very steady round in a time of 9:06 minutes. “I took a longer option on the second-last jump as I wanted to have a clear round for my team. I would have kicked myself if I’d had a run-out there. The horse felt really comfortable all the way through. This is a tough course and today he proved he’s a world-class horse. I couldn’t be happier.” Sadly for Todd, his fellow team mate, Andrew Nicholson, who had been flying the course with Lord Killinghurst, had a very unfortunate fall and elimination at the penultimate fence, and the New Zealand team finished the day in sixth place.

Hinrich Romeike (GER) and Marius, leading after the cross-country/Photo: Peter Llewellyn

In fact, of the top three teams – Germany, Australia and Great Britain – only two riders incurred anything other than time penalties: Peter Thomsen (GER) and Sharon Hunt (GBR), who both suffered refusals just before the end of the course at fence 28. Thomsen said; “I had orders to try the direct way in case time got short. It didn’t work out.”

Britain’s team includes the veteran Mary King, competing in her fifth Olympic Games, who covered her eyes with one hand as she crossed the finish line, acknowledging the fact that she’d had a sticky moment and an extremely narrow escape at the pagodas when Call Again Cavalier took off on a very short stride and virtually kangaroo hopped over the two elements.

China’s Alex Hua Tian, who managed to qualify four horses and chose to ride the Anglo-Arabian Chico, sadly added his name to the fallers statistic at fence 8, the Yu Hua Tai Rockery. “I’m so disappointed with myself. It was completely my fault. I completely missed the stride but the horse was perfect. I completely messed it up.” It was the first time a Chinese rider has competed in an Olympic three-day event.

Of course, once again, all the eventing horses have to be given a clean bill of health by the veterinary committee tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon, before the showjumping, which we know is not a foregone conclusion, and it should be remembered that less than one rail separates the top four individual riders, and less than two rails separate the top 12, so the podium places are still very much up for grabs.

 Fence explanations:

 Pagodas: are a traditional part of Chinese architecture and have been praised since ancient times for the spectacular views they offered. Many popular poems attest to the joy of scaling these multi-tiered structures.

Panda Playground: The universally loved giant panda, now an endangered species due to farming and deforestation, is one of China’s icons.

Great Wall: One of the world’s most recognizable landmarks and remains one of the most impressive and Crouching Dragons: The dragon is a mythical creature that is deeply rooted in Chinese culture. Representing power and authority, it is traditionally the symbol of the Emperor of China.

The Stone Forest: Is located 126 kilometres south of Kunming City in Yunnan Province and covers an area of 2,667 square kilometers. Extensive weather and seawater erosion has shaped limestone crevices into a spectacular forest of grotesque stone pinnacles.

Yu Garden: In Shanghai, the Yu Garden took 18 years to build (1559–1577) . It was built by a Ming dynasty official for his parents as a sanctuary. Designed in the southern Chinese style, Yu means peace and prosperity.