Britain's last-chance bid to qualify its three-day event team for next year's Olympic Games were significantly boosted at the European championship in Luhmuhlen yesterday when Pippa Funnell's winning dressage test with the Irish-bred Supreme Rock pushed the British into pole position going into today's cross-country.
With Funnell's team-mates Ian Stark 13th on his Badminton winner Jaybee and Tina Gifford not too far adrift in 19th on the Euphemism gelding The Gangster, the British have an 18-point advantage over second-placed Sweden. The German hosts, also aiming for a slot on the Sydney start-list, are a mere two points in arrears behind Sweden, separated by a similar margin from fourth-placed France.
Ireland qualified for the Olympics when finishing sixth in the World Equestrian Games in Rome last October, and were subsequently promoted to fifth following the disqualification of Britain's bronze medal team when Coral Cove failed a routine dope test. With the pressure of Olympic qualification removed, the Irish selectors have opted to give some of the younger riders experience, and only Virginia McGrath has any championship form of the team quartet.
Joanne Jarden, who fell with the mare Bellecanna at Badminton's Vicarage Vee, tops the Irish team members in 46th place on a mark of 103, but is closely followed by her compatriots. Austin O'Connor finished fourth on his Badminton debut in May and, following that performance, was selected to run on Ireland's team in Luhmuhlen. His mark of 105 yesterday afternoon puts him 49th with Simply Rhett.
Virginia McGrath, who heads into the startbox as number one of the entire competition this morning, is in 51st with The Yellow Earl, seven slots clear of Nicola Cassidy and Mr Mullins, who finished best of the Irish in eighth at Punchestown. The team's tally of 314 puts Ireland 72 penalties adrift of the leaders, which translates into 72 seconds under the new scoring system.
Sasha Harrison, who runs as an individual on her senior championship debut, is best overall of the Irish in 28th place with the French gelding All Love du Fenaud, while Jane O'Flynn, who had her first championship ride at Burghley two years ago, is in 48th place with Kilnadeema Star.
Time will most certainly be of the essence today, with the 11 minute 45 second optimum time likely to prove elusive for the majority of the 77-starter field. Heat and hard ground are expected to take their toll, but course designer Wolfgang Feld is taking no prisoners on his 28-fence track with most concerns revolving around the first water complex, which involves no fewer than seven jumping efforts.
No special concessions have been made on the cross-country course following the deaths of four riders in the past four months in Britain. Feld believes the onus is on the riders to slow down rather than on him to build either breakable or simplified obstacles.
