Bronze for Team GB
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Great Britain’s eventers have won the team bronze medal in Hong Kong – Team GB’s second medal of the day and fifth of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
The team of Sharon Hunt, Daisy Dick, William Fox-Pitt, Tina Cook and Mary King finished third on 185.70 points after the jumping discipline, with Germany taking gold and Australia silver.
The top 25 riders now jump again over a different course to decide the individual medals. With Tina Cook in joint 6th place going into that final round, she is still in contention for an individual medal.
Sharon Hunt, riding Tankers Town, got things underway for the British this afternoon although she had a fence down leaving her out of the final individual round. She came 35th overall.
Daisy Dick was next to go and didn’t have the best of rounds lowering two fences and picking up three time faults. She said: “The atmosphere really got to him which is very disappointing because he is usually so reliable. I blame myself for the three time faults but he wasn’t very relaxed and was full of tension.”
That performance on Spring Along earned her 24th overall.
With the three best scores still to go the bronze medal was still very much in Britain’s sights and with just one fence down William Fox-Pitt helped the team on their way to the medal.
Fox-Pitt, who rode Parkmore Ed, said, “It was a difficult course tonight with tight turns. It was big enough but it rode really nicely with the horses jumping well and I was pleased with him tonight because he has been anxious under the lights.
“My week has been full of ‘if onlys’ and ‘maybes’ but that’s the sport. Yesterday couldn’t have gone better, he was remarkable.”
He was delighted with a team medal. He said: “It turned out fantastically well, not short of a miracle and we are very proud of our bronze.”
Tina Cook put in the best round of the day for the British with a confident clear, on Miners Frolic. That put her joint sixth overall going into the final individual jumping round,
She said: “I’m so excited I can’t breathe! For a young horse he coped brilliantly with the atmosphere. He was careful and listened to me even though he’s has never seen anything like this. I know he’s a careful jumper and I’d be disappointed with anything less.”
“We are so pleased,” she said after the team had secured bronze. “We were beaten fair and square but the whole team put up some brilliant performances.”
Mary King was the last of the British riders to go, riding Call Again Cavalier. She had two fences down but this did not affect the team bronze medal position. She said: “I’m very disappointed, he was jumping beautifully but didn’t have quite enough power in the final line. It’s uncharacteristic for him – it’s been two years since he had a fence down at a major competition.
“But it is wonderful to bring home a medal especially when we didn’t have the best of starts; I’m just going to have go on for another four years to get that elusive gold!” she added.
Final Team Scores
Gold – Germany – 169.7
Silver – Australia – 171.2
Bronze - Great Britain – 185.7
