Ireland is lying in fifth place in the Olympic eventing competition following two days of dressage.
On Sunday, it was the turn of Jonty Evans and Mark Kyle to ride their tests in the Deodoro Olympic Park, the former being awarded a penalty score of 41.80 for his work on Cooley Rorkes Drift to be the best-placed Irish rider in ninth. The 10-year-old Courage II gelding is owned by Evans in partnership with Fiona Elliott.
While Kyle’s dressage mark of 50.40 was the discard score of the Irish team, the rider is better known for his jumping prowess and will be hoping to improve his position on the British Sport Horse mare Jemilla following the cross-country and show jumping phases. Kyle jointly owns the 10-year-old daughter of the thoroughbred Mill Law with Richard and Shelagh Morley.
The defending champions Germany go into the cross-country phase in a narrow lead on 122 penalties, followed by France (122.20), Australia (126.40), Great Britain (127.70) and Ireland (135.60).
In the individual standings, Britain’s William Fox-Pitt holds on to first place aboard Chilli Morning (37) with Australia’s Chris Burton still lying second on Santano II (37.60). However, the defending individual champion, Germany’s Michael Jung is now only fifth with his London winner Sam (40.90) having been headed by France’s Mathieu Lemoine on Bart L (39.20) and Germany’s Ingrid Klimke with Hale Bob (39.50).
The cross-country phase of the eventing competition gets under way at 2pm Irish time on Monday and riders are agreed that the track designed by France’s Pierre Michelet will prove very challenging.
There are 33 fences, including three water complexes, and 44 jumping efforts on the 5,840 metre course with an optimum time of 10 minutes, 15 seconds. Fox-Pitt described it as “A decent course, the biggest Olympic course I’ve walked, but Chilli is more than ready, I just hope I can do him justice.”
He continued, "It's a true Michelet course, four corners and four skinnies, always committing you so that if you are not right on line then you will have a run-out, always encouraging you to attack it. The distances are all on the long side, it's the most difficult Olympic Games I've seen, but that's how it should be. It will be a pretty good feeling if I go clear!"
Eventing competition, after dressage, teams – 1, Germany 122 penalties; 2, France 122.20; 3, Australia 126.40; 4, Great Britain 127.70; 5, Ireland 135.60; 6, New Zealand and USA 137.50; 13 teams competed.
Individuals – 1, Britain's Chilli Morning (William Fox-Pitt) 37 penalties; 2, Australia's Santano II (Chris Burton) 37.60; 3, France's Bart L (Mathieu Lemoine) 39.20; 4, Germany's Hale Bob (Ingrid Klimke) 39.50; 5, Germany's Sam (Michael Jung) 40.90; 6, France's Qing du Briot (Thibaut Vallette) 41; 9, Ireland's Cooley Rorkes Drift (Jonty Evans) 41.80; equal 26, Ireland's Simon Porloe (Padraig McCarthy) 46.80; equal 29, Ireland's Euro Prince (Clare Abbott) 47; ??, Ireland's Jemilla (Mark Kyle) 50.40; 65 starters.
