SUCCEED-sponsored rider Karen O’Connor finished 24th in yesterday’s cross-country event, putting in a clear ride on Mr. Medicott.
Three-Day Eventing: Cross-Country Results
Germany’s Ingrid Klimke and Sweden’s Sara Algotsson Ostholt led the pack in cross country yesterday with scores of 39.30, followed by New Zealand favorite Mark Todd with a score of 39.50. The now-infamous cross-country course hosted its share of slips and falls, with many horses sliding on their haunches or unbalancing their riders following jump 20, “The Royal Greenwich Borough.” Nine of the 59 horses who finished earned a double-clear — that is, no time penalties or faults over fences — and that’s seven more than course designer Sue Benson predicted. The dressage leader, Yoshiaki Oiwa of Japan, went over the head of Noonday de Conde on the landing side of 20A, which resulted in elimination. Thirteen other riders were similarly disqualified. Germany retained its team lead following the cross-country results, with Great Britain in second and Sweden a close third.
Team USA Overall Olympic Results:
Team USA was ranked seventh after dressage on Sunday and moved up to fifth place following a strong cross-country showing. All four riders accrued time penalties, but Phillip Dutton moved from 22nd up to 12th with a quick finish just seven seconds over the optimum time of 10:03. Karen O’Connor took 24th place with 5.6 time penalties, and Boyd Martin, who was the first rider on the course, moved up 10 places to 26th place. Tiana Coudray’s Ringwood Magister refused at fence 3B, the Bandstand Rails, keeping the pair at 42nd place. Will Coleman’s Twizzel hesitated, and then stopped, at the steeply sloping Royal Greenwich Borough, leaving him in 46th place.
Karen O’Connor Olympic Update
Despite swapping out the snaffle bit she’d used in the dressage for a strong double-bridle set up, Karen O’Connor joked that her arms were considerably longer following her ride due to the hard-pulling Mr. Medicott. According to the USET website, Karen was disappointed she didn’t get within the time limit, but they jumped a clear round and ended the day with a total score of 53.8.
“Everything else went to plan,” said O’Connor. “Mark Phillips has done a wonderful job preparing this team.”
Karen O’Connor tied for 24th place in the individual standings.
Up Next: Show Jumping Results
Be sure to subscribe to the SUCCEED blog as we chronicle Karen O’Connor’s bid for Olympic gold and move into the third and final event, show jumping.
