Jenny MacArthur
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“Abysmal” was how Malcolm Pyrah, the British showjumping team trainer, summed up Britain’s performance in the Olympic team showjumping event at Horsley Park today. While the formidable German team saw off a strong challenge from the Swiss to win their second successive Olympic team gold medal the British four, who had come here with realistic medal hopes after winning the Nations Cup in Aachen in July, finished a lowly eighth out of 16.
“There are no excuses,” a disconsolate Pyrah said. “We’ll never get an easier Olympic track than this and, apart from John [Whitaker], our riders have failed to come up to scratch.” The reliable Whitaker, 45, whose focused, single-minded approach to the job failed to rub off on the other three, was faultless in the first round on the Dutch-bred stallion Calvaro and had four faults - again the best of the four riders - in the second.
Carl Edwards, who controversially replaced Di Lampard and Abbervail Dream in the team, failed to justify his place when his mare Bit More Candy incurred 12 faults in the first round and 20 in the second.
Geoff Billington, hurtling down to the water (Fence 4) on It’s Otto in the first round, had to apply the emergency brakes in order to fit in the six short strides required between the water and the combination (fence 5) - the most difficult line on the 13-fence course. Confused, It’s Otto came to a standstill a few strides from the fence. They finished on 12.75 faults. In the second round Billington went too slowly to the water, faulting there and at fence 6.
Even Michael Whitaker was not immune from the negative riding which gripped the team. His eight faults on Prince of Wales in the first round included four at the straightforward triple bar (fence 9). “It was my fault - you should never have the back pole off a triple bar - I was going too slowly,” he said. In the second round they hit the middle part of the combination and fence 7 - to complete the British disaster.
“We’re just lining up the swords to fall on,” was all Michael Bullman, the chairman of the selectors, could muster as he emerged, ashen-faced, from watching the event. The Germans, despite their five-year unbeaten record in showjumping championships, had looked vulnerable at the half-way stage when they shared the lead, on eight faults, with France and Switzerland.
Ludger Beerbaum, the 1992 Olympic champion, had collected an untypical 20 faults in the first round on Goldfever - and 16.25 in the second. But a double clear round from Otto Becker on Cento - and a faultless one from Lars Nieberg on Esprit in the second - secured their slender one-point victory ahead of Switzerland, the silver-medal winners.
Brazil, bolstered by their peerless world champion Rodrigo Pessoa on Baloubet du Rouet - who justified his status as favourite for the individual gold with three clear rounds - secured the bronze for the second successive occasion after a jump-off with France. The latter had the chance, in the second round, to win the gold if rider, Philippe Rozier, went clear, but his 12 faults dropped them equal with Brazil.
The jump-off proved too much for Alexander Lederman’s Rochet who, having propped the team up with one of only three double clear rounds, had eight faults against the clock, to the joy of the Brazilians who greeted their bronze medal - only the second Olympic equestrian medal the country has won - as though it were the gold.
The individual showjumping contest takes place on Sunday. In a measure of consolation for Pyrah, John and Michael Whitaker and Geoff Billington have all qualified after finishing in the top 45 in the team event.
Jenny MacArthur
The Times
