The All Black three-day event team turned all gold at the World Equestrian Games yesterday as Olympic champion Blyth Tait led the Kiwis to the top of the medal podium in both the team and individual rankings, just as he had eight years ago at the inaugural Games in Stockholm.
Tait, whose purple patch this autumn seemed to have peaked with a one-two at Burghley last month, continued on the winning trail when Ready Teddy's brilliant cross-country clear on Saturday boosted him up into fourth behind compatriot Mark Todd.
Todd had actually notched up the first foot-perfect round on a cross-country course that had been hit by torrential rain similar to that which had affected Burghley so badly. Riding his open European championship winner Broadcast News, Todd had made the 13 minute optimum time look ridiculously easy, but worsening conditions throughout the day took their toll.
In fact just 14 horses retained unadulterated dressage scores at the close of play, including Irish pathfinder The Yellow Earl, brilliantly ridden by Virginia McGrath for a perfect start to Ireland's bid for an Olympic qualification slot.
Fortunes began to decline, however, when team number two Mark Kyle picked up 20 penalties for a glance-off at the downhill arrowhead with Irish Patriot, but that was only the start of the Irish woes.
Eric Smiley and the wonderful veteran Enterprise were twothirds of the way round and clear when disaster struck at fence 22, a massive timber oxer over a ditch where the pair parted company and the grey galloped off, reappearing back at the stables nearly five minutes later thankfully relatively unscathed from his solitary detour.
Enterprise took no further part, but worse was to come when Lucy Thompson, already carrying a back injury from a fall at Gatcombe last month, fell after the arrowhead at 21 which had caught out Irish Patriot. Reunited, the pair went on to complete, but the team score suffered massively, dropping to overnight eighth in a line-up topped by the all-conquering New Zealanders, with Australia and France looking solid for the other medals.
Dressage leader Bettina Overesch picked up 5.6 time penalties with Watermill Stream to drop to second behind Mark Todd, but the grey was obviously footsore at yesterday morning's final horse inspection and was eliminated, while David Green's Chatsby was withdrawn after being held over for re-inspection to wipe out the Australian team.
Against the odds, Lucy Thompson produced a sensational show jumping clear from Welton Molecule, although both sides of the partnership were obviously in pain, and Mark Kyle followed suit with Irish Patriot. When Virginia McGrath and The Yellow Earl returned with just one fence down for individual 19th the Irish were guaranteed sixth place in the teams and qualification for the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
Individual runners Stuart Crawford and Kingatchacuk, clear around the country on Saturday, faulted only at the second to move up to 38th, while Jane O'Flynn and Ladakha wound up in 47th after a cross-country stop and three fences down yesterday.
Up amongst the medal contenders, Blyth Tait's superlative show jumping clear with his Atlanta champion Ready Teddy put the pressure on the two left to jump and Australian team debutante Stuart Tinney was first to succumb, hitting two to slide right out of the medals.
Mark Todd's hopes of finally netting the only title to elude him vanished when Broadcast News also hit two, although that was still good enough to clinch team gold for the New Zealanders ahead of France and Britain, with Todd having to settle for individual silver behind Blyth Tait.
