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Olympic Eventing Preview
Thursday, August 7th, 2008
Key Facts:
24 nations
11 nations with teams
73 riders and horses
The battle for medals in Eventing at the 2008 Olympic Games promises to be a fascinating one. Riders from 25 nations will line out in challenging weather conditions and, further fuelling the excitement, the lead-in period has seen the return of one of the greatest exponents of the sport, disappointment for the confident British who might have expected to dominate, and the continuing rise of a prodigious French talent.
FRENCH BRILLIANCE
Nicolas Touzaint was just 23 years old when first winning individual European gold at Punchestown in 2003 and he arrives in Hong Kong with a second European title, won at Pratoni last summer, and the highly-prestigious Badminton trophy to his credit, thus throwing down the gauntlet to everyone else. Whether the French team can again find the kind of form that saw them take gold in Athens remains to be seen however. Four years later that looks like a big ask.....
BRITISH EXPERIENCE
The British should have been travelling to Hong Kong as hot favourites with their team boosted by the presence of World and European gold medallist Zara Phillips riding Toytown and Badminton runners-up Lucy Wiegersma and Shaabrak but both have been taken out through horse injury. The British record at European Championships is nothing short of incredible, with 21 team victories including seven in a row since 1995, but you have to go back to Munich in 1972 for their last Olympic success when the line-up included Mary Gordon-Watson, Bridget Parker, Mark Phillips and Richard Meade. Even without two of their top performers they still look strong however, thanks to the depth of experience of riders like William Fox-Pitt and Mary King, the latter lining out in her fifth Olympic contest. At 47 years of age, King is riding better than ever, and she partners Call Again Cavalier with whom she finished in silver medal position at the 2007 Europeans while the ultra-professional Fox-Pitt has been selected with his 2007 Burghley winner Parkmore Ed.
OR MAYBE NEW ZEALAND
Even putting nostalgia aside, the New Zealand squad that includes returning hero Mark Todd (pic right with Charisma) looks likely for a medal placing. Joe Meyer and Snip are a great combination while Andrew Nicholson can be relied upon to get the very best from Lord Killinghurst. Heelan Tompkins was on the bronze medal winning team in Athens and has found an exciting new ride in Sugoi who won an Eventing World Cup qualifier in April while there is feistiness about Caroline Powell and Lenamore who finished fourth in Badminton this year. Forward-going, courageous and careful - Lenamore seems the type of horse most suited to the Hong Kong conditions while the final show jumping phase, which so often proves the undoing of the leaders in this sport, normally holds no horrors for this Irish-bred.
But of course the one everyone will be watching will be Todd. His 2008 Olympic Games story is already a phenomenal one as he left it so late - last December to be precise - to decide to try to qualify for Hong Kong and then succeeded against all the odds to do just that with a relatively inexperienced horse. Only a man with his incredible record – five victories at the notoriously difficult Burghley Horse Trials, team gold at the World Championships in 1990 and again in 1998, and three individual Olympic gold medals with two bronze and a silver also thrown in for good measure – would even dream of trying to make a comeback after an eight-year retirement at the age of 52. And his 10 year old horse, Gandalf, who Todd insists is steady and safe, should feel plenty secure himself because when once asked about his team-mates chances on a relatively unknown ride at Punchestown many years ago Andrew Nicholson famously remarked "sure Mark could get a dairy cow around here - he can ride anything!".
TALENT IN GERMANY
Sweden, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Ireland and the USA will also field teams. Sweden's Linda Algotsson will be bringing out Stand by Me who belied his 18 years when winning the CIC 2-Stars at Hunxe and Wiesbaden and placing fourth in the CCI 3-Star at Luhmuehlen this season while Ireland's strongest contender is army man Captain Geoff Curran. The Germans have been hard-hit by the withdrawal of their most experienced partnership Bettina Hoy and Ringwood Cockatoo, the brilliant 17 year old grey injured when slipping during the show jumping phase at the final trial in Aachen last month. But there is still plenty of depth amongst the remaining contingent which includes Andreas Dibowski. Ingrid Klimke, Frank Ostholt and Hinrich Romeike and it is interesting to note that they will generally be mounted on younger horses which may well pay dividends in the demanding Hong Kong climate. China's sole representatives. Alex Tian Hua and Chico, should feel quite at home no matter what the weather has in store.
TALENT IN THE USA
Philip Dutton might have mixed feelings as he rides into the Sha Tin main arena to begin his Dressage test. He was flying the Australian flag when he won team gold in Sydney in 2000 but this time around he carries the stars and stripes of the USA and, riding the 15 year old Connaught with whom he scooped the honours in Kentucky in April, he is expected to be competitive once again. The Americans have not been enjoying the best of luck of late and the tragic loss of Karen O'Connor's amazing pony Theodore has come as a huge blow, not just to his rider but to US chances and to the little chap's many, many fans. Stories like his don't come around too often, but there may yet be a happier ending even if it has come about due to a fellow-rider's misfortune. Because just a few days ago Heidi White withdrew Northern Spy from the team "for veterinary reasons" and Karen, who competed before the US selectors at Barbury Castle in England last month, has now been called up with Mandiba. If she were to produce a good result from this nine year old then that would be a fitting tribute to the brave little pony she so sadly lost.
AND CERTAINLY DOWN UNDER
There was something about Lucinda Fredericks' victory with Headley Britannia at Barbury Castle however that suggested the main honours may well go Down-Under. A few weeks earlier, Lucinda withdrew her brilliant little mare before cross-country at Luhmuehlen after establishing a strong lead in Dressage, but at Barbury she was not holding back as she stormed to victory ahead of Britain's William Fox-Pitt with Parkmore Ed while her husband, Clayton Fredericks, galloped into third with Ben Along Time. This will be Lucinda's first time to make a senior Australian team but her strength in the Dressage phase may well give her the best possible start and the ultra-fit Headley Britannia should cope well with the Hong Kong conditions. The Australian line-up is strong, also including Shane Rose with All Luck, Megan Jones with Irish Jester and Sonja Johnson with Ringwould Jaguar. They may prove the ones to beat.
THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE OF THEM ALL
However in the final analysis the biggest obstacle horse and riders face is the heat and humidity and cross-country course designer Mike Etherington-Smith has had the undeniably difficult task of setting the course at the right level in such challenging conditions, but believes he has struck the right balance.
"In planning the track I took into account two important things – the undulations of the ground, and the climate. I've used the shade as much as possible and have kept the undulations to a minimum but there has been no re-shaping of the contours - you have to remember that we are running over a golf course and it will return to being a golf course as soon as the Games are over," he points out.
"This is the first competition at this level in these hot and very humid conditions and horsemanship will count for a great deal. Cross-country time will be an important factor, and I hope the officials have the confidence to use the full extent of the track without dropping any of the loops. The challenge is appropriate for the climate - there will be some big fences as well as some combinations but it is not the biggest course the world has ever seen although it will be bigger than Athens," he explains.
He believes the footing will be excellent no matter what the weather decides to do. "We have had fantastic help from the Hong Kong Jockey Club who have a wealth of knowledge on the subject of footing and the ground has been prepared all around the course. When rain falls in Hong Kong you tend to get a lot of it - there has been 1.7 metres of rainfall since May - but the ground should handle it," he says.
Cross-country fence material has been shipped from as far away as Great Britain, Russia and Australia - "It has been a major logistical exercise," Mike says, "and Dave Evans has done a fantastic job building the obstacles. I hope the track is challenging enough to separate the top riders from those who are not so experienced and yet I don't want to put mental pressure on the horses in the heat," he adds.
A LESSON IN HORSEMANSHIP
Mike's message to all the riders is a simple one - "use your head, listen to what your horse is telling you and ride the course accordingly. You need to have alternative routes planned and to be able to make quick judgments so that if horses are not responding as you would like you can take an easier line. No matter whether the weather is more or less favourable, the cross-country phase is going to be tough enough and should not be under-estimated. Horsemanship really is going to be the key in deciding the medals," he says.
Even putting nostalgia aside, the New Zealand squad that includes returning hero Mark Todd 
However in the final analysis the biggest obstacle horse and riders face is the heat and humidity and cross-country course designer Mike Etherington-Smith has had the undeniably difficult task of setting the course at the right level in such challenging conditions, but believes he has struck the right balance.