Cruising, the stallion campaigned so successfully by Trevor Coyle and then briefly by Eddie Macken, is to be ridden by Britain's John Whitaker.

The new partnership has been debated hotly on the show jumping grapevine, but was confirmed only yesterday by the stallion's owner Mary McCann.

"I took the horse over on Sunday," McCann said yesterday, "and John jumped him on Monday and Tuesday. It looks as though they've been together all their lives."

Yorkshire-based Whitaker is thrilled with the offer of a new ride. "I'm short of a horse of that calibre at the moment. I've jumped him and he feels very good. Mary spoke to me on the Sunday of Dortmund two weeks ago, but I think a lot of people knew before I did. She's very patriotic and it was quite a big decision for her to make. It's good for me, but it's bad for Ireland."

The move now means that Cruising will be jumping for Britain, but the 15-year-old stallion is not eligible to compete at the Olympic Games in Sydney as horses have to owned by a citizen of the country they are representing before January 1st of an Olympic year.

But McCann says that there were no suitable Irish riders available. "I'm happy now," she said, "and the plans are that they'll start off at a couple of small shows."

With Trevor Coyle in the saddle, Cruising became one of the world's top show jumpers, last year winning the prestigious Aachen Grand Prix and finishing a frustratingly close runner-up in the World Cup finals.

Eddie Macken was offered the horse last September, but the pair never really gelled and McCann opted to move the stallion on again three weeks ago.