And so to the day everyone loves - the Cross Country - and Punchestown was abuzz with excitement and there was a great deal of discussion regarding the Olympic Format and how well, or otherwise it would work!
The difference is that the CIC-OG 3*** runs with dressage, cross country and showjumping with no roads and tracks.
Interesting that 24 competitors started out in the dressage, with all combinations heading through the starters flags on cross country - but when the final tally was done after this phase only 16 came through the finish flags with 4 combinations retiring on course and 3 were eliminated.
Eliminations were sadly the end for Susanna Bordone for Italy, Andrew Nicholson and Duddles for New Zealand and Eddy Stibbe and Autumn Breeze III for Dutch Antilles.
Heidi Antikatzidis for Greece, Jonty Evans for Ireland, Edmond Gibney for Ireland and Sam Griffiths for Australia retired on course. We hope Jonty is ok as evening closes on Punchestown after having a nasty accident where he injured his knee quite badly - the horse was ok after their tip at the Coolmore Stables fence which sits as fence 17, with part b causing the problem and this combination of fences has a "trainers difficulty rating" of 6.
Sam Griffiths and His Lordships Opposition had a nasty fall where the horse threw a leg awkwardly at The Punchestown Crannogs which sit as fences 20a, b and c - the horse was apparently badly winded after encountering his problem at part a and was carted off in the horse ambulance - as we understand it the horse was fine, other than the shock value and the ambulance was precautionary rather than necessary so we wish them all the best. Sam's demise occurred at a fence which carries a "trainers difficulty rating' of 8 and one of the toughest combinations on the course coming so close to the end when tiredness plays a huge part in how the horses and riders negotiate this treble of fences.
Eddy Stibbe and Autumn Breeze III came unstuck at fence 15, the Powerscourt Waterfall which carries a degree of difficulty rating of 8. The Osprey Hotel Circle, numbered 13a saw Duddles and Andrew Nicholson leave without the hope of the winners circle this weekend. Susanna Bordone took a swim at fence 16, the Landrover Water Challenge which is another of the 8 rated fences.
Now to compare the courses - the CCI 3*** saw 28 competitors listed - 24 went through the starters flags and one was withdrawn prior to the start of cross country. Three combinations were withdrawn before the Dressage began and they were Lucinda Fredericks for Australia, Jim Newsam for New Zealand and Cressida Clague-Reading for Great Britain.
Two combinations retired on Cross Country and they were Alberto Guigini for Italy and Julian Trevor-Roper for Great Britain. Andrew Nicholson was the only elimination for the CCI 3*** with Early Times - I am guessing Andrew is not heading back to the UK as the "happiest camper on the motorway"!
So back to the discussion - many are wondering whether removing the Roads and Tracks section is the right thing for the horses from the point of view that they are going cross country perhaps without the necessary "warmup" which the roads and tracks provided - also the question being asked was whether the horses and riders were "pumped up on adrenaline" sufficiently as they head into the cross country course having had "warm up fences" more like going into the showjumping as their preparation - no doubt there will be many discussions around the world about this major change to the discipline of Eventing and with this being the format no doubt training regimes will need to be looked at very carefully for both horses and riders.
The CIC-OG 3*** riders almost without exception opted for the easier options today on course as they were concerned about the "wear and tear" factor on their horses so close to Athens but it did not seem to make a huge difference to their times leaving some to question whether the course was set more for the riders to experience the Olympic Games format than to actually ride the course for the win - Andrew Hoy took no options and still came in some 8 seconds under time!
The weather, early in the morning was looking decidedly dodgy with the rain being fine and drenching which was causing some concern as to just how slippery the cross country was going to be but this did not deter the crowds who were there in full force, finding a fence they liked the look of and making themselves comfortable. Thankfully the drizzle stopped and the day turned out to be very warm with a slight humidity in the air.
The media were out in full force and there were definitely two favourites for the day - Blyth Tait riding his most famous of partners, the great Ready Teddy who partnered him to his Gold medal in 1996 at Atlanta, when he was the "new horse" for Blyth. This brave and handsome chestnut thoroughbred gelding by Brilliant Invader instantly took the heart of eventing fans around the world and now at 16 years of age this super horse is still going strong and looking fabulous! They were well in the lead after the dressage and when they came through the cross country finish flags they were still well in the lead with their faultless jumping which collected 0.80 time penalties and looked fresh enough to "go again"! Following is a series of Ready Teddy and Blyth Tait photos - they show how fresh this horse was from start to finish.............................
