Editorial comment
Content director Sarah Jenkins
THERE we were having concerns that Rio’s eventing would be a dressage competition… As I write, Pierre Michelet’s course is proving the undoing of countless top combinations. How painful it was to see William Fox-Pitt’s medal hopes disperse, and far more so I’m sure for William and his connections.
What a story still, but what a story it could have been — and it looked to be — after day one. Pippa Funnell offered us fresh hope with such a convincing cross-country start on Billy The Biz. The entire office then moaned as she, too, had an unfortunate refusal. We didn’t even get to see the reason for Kitty King’s penalties, only the marks on the scoreboard our website editor had her eye on while producing our online written commentary of the event — something you can follow for the rest of the action in Rio, too, at www.horseandhound.co.uk.
Our riders’ scores at the end of cross-country day did not reflect the calibre of horsemanship and horsepower. Hats off, though, to Christopher Burton, Michael Jung and Astier Nicolas’ inspired performances.
When non-equestrians ask about eventing, I’m forever saying: “You can’t grasp quite how big and intimidating and technical the obstacles are on TV. The picture never does the effort justice, because the top horses and riders make it look so easy.”
However, the drama created on Monday left nobody in any doubt of the challenge these riders faced.