DAVID FOSTER, who posted the best result of Ireland's three-day event riders at the Atlanta Olympics this summer, was pipped at the post for victory in the Puhinui international yesterday by America's David O'Connor, who claimed the Auckland International Airport honours with a supremely-confident clear in the final showjumping phase.
Ireland's challenge in the four-nation team event had looked less than watertight during Saturday's rainsoaked cross-country when Eric Smiley parted company with French Lace at the third in a series of angled hedges, but it sank without trace when open European champion Lucy Thompson produced the first clear inside the optimum time only to be eliminated for jumping a wrong fence.
Although Thompson and Jonty were eventually reinstated, to allow the Irish trio to register a team score at the close of play on cross-country day, the addition of 50 penalties to their tally meant any hope of a top-three placing had floundered in hock-deep going that sapped the energy of the horses throughout the day.
Foster had acted as pathfinder around the 19-fence track, but the inexperienced mare Imagine needed some encouragement from her rider to take on the fences and, not surprisingly considering the heavy terrain, came through the finish flags with 6.4 time penalties. That was good enough for third overnight, but the disasters that had overtaken Foster's team members left Smiley 10th and Thompson bringing up the rear of the field.
Karen O'Connor, the American who had led from the outset, continued to hold the advantage with Danzar, but husband David, who had shared the team silver medal podium with Karen in Atlanta, had crept up from fourth to second after a brilliantly-speedy clear from the nine-year-old mare Audacious. But a stop in the middle of the first water complex for individual bronze medallist Kerry Millikin and Castlereagh had allowed the New Zealanders to overhaul America in the team placings.
Sunshine replaced the downpours yesterday and Millikin's ride redeemed himself with a showjumping clear and was then joined on a zero score by New Zealand's Sally Clark and Anakiwa, who had been more than fortunate to escape penalties in a questionable decision at the water 24 hours previously.
Despite a couple of rattles on the way round the 12-fence track, Foster and Imagine removed the top pole only from the second last, but an immaculate clear from David O'Connor meant that the individual honours were definitely destined for America, regardless of what last-one-in Karen O'Connor did.
The team placings still hung in the balance however and, even though Karen O'Connor knew that she had handed the individual win to her husband when Danzar hit the third, she could still clinch team victory for the USA if she kept the faults tally down to single figures. But both parts of the second double fell as Danzar struggled to get out of the sticky going to leave the Kiwis with a 7.6 penalty advantage in the team event and push Karen O'Connor down to third behind her husband and David Foster.
Australia, winners of team gold in both Barcelona and Atlanta, were well off the pace in third after Phillip Dutton's horse Ngamatea Rimrock was withdrawn lame just before the showjumping, but there was no hope of a reprieve from last place for the Irish squad.
