"We Weren't Good Enough"

Why did the U.S. eventing team fail to fire at the Olympics? There's one easy answer, but a close look at the situation is pending from the U.S. Equestrian Federation.

LONDON -- The U.S. eventing team's dismal seventh-place finish at the Olympics was a stunner. While the Americans hadn't been among the favorites to medal--that list included Germany, which did take gold; Britain (silver) and New Zealand (bronze) as well as Australia (sixth). But there was a thought that the U.S. team had an outside chance to stand on the podium, and its performance was well below expectations on the world stage.

"We weren't good enough on any day," said technical adviser Mark Phillips, referring to the dressage, cross-country and show jumping phases.
"We're not playing the game. There's no excuses."

Asked for more analysis, he added, "One of our biggest handicaps is our island continent. We very rarely get the opportunity, for economic reasons, to mix in with the rest of the world in Europe."

David O'Connor, who will take over for Phillips when he leaves at the end of the year, believes, "The level of competition has been raised. We have to study furiously on what it takes to win."

He had an even worse time at the Olympics than Phillips; the Canadian team that he has been coaching finished last.

O'Connor's wife, Karen, held the top American placing aboard Mr. Medicott, who had been on the German gold medal team in 2008. She came in ninth, ahead of Phillip Dutton and Mystery Whisper, the team's great hope after he was imported from Australia at the end of last year. Dutton was 19th after dressage, but had a chance to make up ground on cross-country, where he climbed to 12th, with just 2.8 time penalties.

However, the horse fell apart in the team jumping segment, with a refusal, two knockdowns and 11 time penalties. He also had two knockdowns in the individual jumping competition that followed to wind up 23d.

"I didn't get him thinking forward enough," said Dutton about the team jumping round. "I was concentrating on getting him careful but he's always careful, I should have galloped him around in there, but I was a bit cautious."

After knocking down the fifth fence, Mystery Whisper spooked at the next obstacle and stopped.

"I'm pretty embarrassed about it... I think it surprised him," said Dutton, who cut the corner to it trying to make the time allowed.

In the second round, "He actually tried pretty hard in there. It was a bit bigger course than he is used to and he was feeling the effects of a fast round yesterday," said Dutton, referring to cross-country.

"It's been big adjustment for him coming from a different hemisphere just a few months ago. I think he'll be a bigger and stronger horse in a year or so. He hasn't gone that fast on the cross-country at that level before, either. He's a great horse and he deserved a better finish than that."

The horse was on loan to Dutton for the Olympics and will now move on to Arden Wildasin, the daughter of owner Jim Wildasin, who also owns Twizzel, Will Coleman's horse. Coleman, who had a refusal on cross-country when Twizzel tried to back up on a step bank, also had two time penalties in show jumping to end up 37th. Tiana Coudray, the rookie of the squad, was 40th with Ringwood Magister.

The team's fifth member, Boyd Martin, withdrew Otis Barbotiere from the holding box at the final horse inspection after the horse was sore. Martin had been the pathfinder for the team on cross-country, where he had 3.6 time penalties--not bad for the first person on the course. He thought the horse might have incurred a sprain on cross-country.

The Germans, led by individual gold medal winner Michael Jung aboard Sam, finished on 133.7 penalties. Until yesterday's feat by Jung, no one has ever held the eventing European and world championships simultaneously with the Olympic crown. He won his two gold medals on his 30th birthday in his first Olympic appearance. Jung was the only one of 74 riders to finish on his dressage score, incurring no penalties in cross-country or stadium jumping.

But for the final fence in the final round, Sweden's Sara Algotsson-Ostholt could have said the same. Just as she was set to claim the individual gold medal on Wega, a rail toppled at the last obstacle when her horse hit it on the wrong stride. The bronze went to another German, Sandra Auffarth on Opgun Louvo.

The British, who desperately wanted to take team gold for the first time in 40 years, fell short with 138.2 penalties to take the silver, well ahead of New Zealand on 144.4 penalties.

These teams are just in another class from the Americans, who finished with 208.6 penalties. Understandably, the U.S. Equestrian Federation is planning a "post-mortem" upon returning home to look at what went wrong and how it can be fixed.