Eventing – The British Team
Saturday, August 09, 2008
The eventing competition started in Hong Kong with an early morning session today, seeing 2 out of the 5 British riders tackle the dressage phase. Team GB are currently lying in 6th position but there are 2 more sessions to go yet.
Daisy Dick and Spring Along were the first to go and made a solid start for the British Team with a score of 51.7. Spring Along warmed up well and Daisy said; "Outside I was thinking 30's as he was that soft and beautiful."
But the horse has a reputation for being a bit unpredictable on the big stage and he was a bit spooky. "It was a big atmosphere for someone so small and brown!" Daisy said.
Much of his work was impressive, scoring sevens and eights - especially for the shoulder-in and half pass in trot but the overall score was let down by a few lapses in concentration. When asked was she affected by the heat during her test, she said; "You don't notice it when you are in the test but I got off and just broke out in sweat. Another ten degrees warmer and maybe he wouldn't have been so spooky! He (Spring Along) was naughty for his test in Aachen and then I had the best cross country ride of my life so let's hope here will be the same."
Daisy Dick & Spring Along
Britain’s second rider William Fox-Pitt was also a victim of competition jitters when Parkmore Ed took exception to the top end of the arena on entry. “He was hit by the atmosphere and suddenly felt very isolated and wanted to head back to the entry. Outside he was super so I’m obviously disappointed as I know he is capable of better.”
Like his compatriot Daisy Dick, William kept his cool and went on to produce some good movements which scored well. “Ed has been a bit lit up since he arrived and with quarantine and over a week here, it’s been a while since he’s done something so exciting!”
After the first morning of dressage, the leader board is dominated by one name – Fredericks. Australia’s married duo of Clayton and Lucinda hold first and second; Lucinda is leading with her Badminton and Burghley winner Headley Britannia on 30.4 – whose test included a perfect 10 for a flying change – while husband Clayton is 6.6 penalties behind on 37.0 with Ben Along Time. The top three is completed by the USA’s Gina Miles and McKinlaigh on the only other sub-40 score, 39.3.
William is currently 11th on 50.2 and Daisy just two places behind in 13th. Dressage resumes at 7:15pm Hong Kong (12.15pm UK time) time where we will see Britain’s Tina Cook in action at approximately 2.54pm UK time.
