The sole crown that has escaped the otherwise all-conquering Mark Todd came closer to his grasp yesterday as the New Zealander's open European champion winner Broadcast News performed the test of his life to lead after the first day of dressage at the World Equestrian Games in Rome.
Todd was called upon to fill the number one slot in the Kiwi team and was second into the arena yesterday morning but, while the early Thursday dressage judging at Burghley last month had given his compatriot Blyth Tait plenty of cause for concern, Todd found nothing to grumble about at the Italian venue where he earned top marks from all three judges to establish a 5.4 point lead over America's David O'Connor and the Irish export Giltedge.
Todd's team-mate Sally Clark, who took individual silver at the Atlanta Olympics two years ago, was just shaded into fourth by Australia's Stuart Tinney to give the New Zealanders an early advantage in the team standings, with Germany 11 points adrift.
Unfortunately, the Irish are currently well off the pace, in spite of a personal best from Jane O'Flynn and the Sea Crest mare Ladakha. But the Kildare duo are eligible for an individual placing only, while the first two team runners - Virginia McGrath (The Yellow Earl) and Mark Kyle (Irish Patriot) - both earned marks in the 60s.
The Irish connections are hopeful that there will be a more optimistic profile to the marks from today's tests, with Eric Smiley and Lucy Thompson more than capable of getting up amongst the leaders. But dressage scores for all but the most talented may well prove irrelevant after tomorrow's tough cross-country, when the hilly terrain and demanding fences are expected to sort out the men from the boys in the 23-nation field.
Team medals in the pure dressage were decided in Rome's Stadio Flaminio yesterday, with the goldrush continuing for the Germans. As expected, the Dutch occupied the next step on the podium, with Sweden taking the bronze.
The Irish team failed to record a final score after Katy BradleyLynn's elimination on Wednesday, but Heike Holstein slotted into 29th in the individual rankings with Ballaseyr Legend, a good distance clear of Yvette Truesdale and Accolade, who finished in 73rd.
