Germany on Top in Olympic Eventing

After wrapping up the first two phases of Olympic eventing competition, Germany is on top but it’s still anyone’s game. Taking over the top positions of both team and individual leaderboards after the dressage and cross-country phases of the event, Germany has moved into the No. 1 position headed into the final show jumping phase of the competition. Germany’s Hinrich Romeike is now the leader in individual rankings aboard Marius while fellow-German Ingrid Klimke is close behind in second with Abraxxas.

But Australia is stalking them, with Megan Jones in third and Clayton Fredericks in fourth. Australia’s Lucinda Fredericks (Clayton’s wife) aboard the little mare Headley Brittannia took the early lead after the dressage phase wrapped up, but dropped to 11th position after the cross-country phase finished and the Germans took over.

While Lucinda may be having a tough time coming to grips with her drop in the standings, the Americans are having a difficult time as well. The U.S. team was hit hard by the elimination of Amy Tryon and Poggio II after they took a fall at fence 10 on the cross-country course. “It felt like he caught his right front knee on the way up and slipped across the top and then landed and stumbled and then stumbled again,” Tryon explained afterward. There are no reports of injuries to either Tryon or Poggio.

Americans Rebecca Holder and Karen O’Connor didn’t have much luck on cross-country either. Holder, aboard Courageous Comet, and O’Connor riding Mandiba, both suffered refusals on course, dropping both horse-and-rider combinations down to seventh after the cross-country phase.

Phillip Dutton on Connaught is at the bottom of the American pack in 14th position after cross-country.

But there is one bright spot for the Americans. Gina Miles and the mount MacKinlaigh are in fifth place after cross-country and are showing intense focus. Rain has dampened the footing, but Miles hasn’t felt the affects. “The rain? I didn’t even notice it, I was concentrating on riding because it was a very busy course and it didn’t affect me at all!”.

The final phase of Olympic eventing, the show jumping competition, gets underway on August 12.

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