For Britain, day two of the showjumping was mission achieved by finishing tenth to secure a spot in tomorrow night’s Team Championship final.
Today teams were looking for a top ten placing to go forward to tomorrow night’s final when the Team World Championship medals will be decided plus from an individual perspective riders were looking for clears to keep them in the individual medal hunt.
Robert Smith lead us off again and again he produced a superb round with Di and Pennie Cornish and his own Talan adding just a time fault to give the team a huge boost and keeping his own hopes very much alive. Robert commented; “I’m pleased; obviously I’d rather not have the time fault. He was carful and cautious to start but got strong towards the end – one minute I was kicking, the next I was pulling! It was crucial to get a good start for the team and me as an individual. It was a clever riders' course – nipping you in on some distances, opening you up on others.” Individually he is eighth on 3.94.
Our next rider was David McPherson with Ansgar and Ellen Holtgers’s Chamberlain Z and they looked to have learned a lot from yesterday’s experience, looking much more relaxed with the horse really jumping. They were extremely unlucky to have a foot in the water, today’s bogey fence. I’m sick as a pig,” said David after his round. “His jumping was amazing but it was jockey error as he was quick to the water and compressed the last stride. He’s an amazing horse for the future and when you think he was competing in 1.40m classes at the beginning of the year, he’s come along way.” The combination are 39th individually on 10.35.
Third to go was the Senior team debutante Scott Brash with Stanley Brash’s Intertoy Z and they also put the experience gained yesterday to good effect for a great round with just an unlucky toe on the tape before the water. Scott lies 54th on 12.88.
A clear round from our final combination, Michael Whitaker and Beatrice Mertens’s GIG Amai II would have made a top ten position safe but once again they had a great round spoilt by two fences down. Michael said; “I’m obviously disappointed. I’m pretty pleased with the way he jumped but we got disorganised at the water. I had to ride it as I knew others had had trouble and hope he’d jump the next but I lost the rhythm and control. He’s a sensitive horse and is quick to react; I over-rode and it cost me two fences.” A total score of 14.51 puts Michael 54th overall.
This puts Britain in tenth place with a score of 23.80 while the leaders are Germany on 17.80, Brazil in second with 18.49 and the USA, yesterday’s leaders, in third on 18.69.
For full results, log on to the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games website.
Listen to reactions from the riders after their performances today:
Scott Brash
Michael Whitaker