Dressage stage goes well for eventers

The three New Zealanders have performed above expectations in the dressage, the first round of the equestrian three-day eventing competition.

Jonelle Price, riding Grovine de Reve, led off yesterday with a solid score of 30.70 and was well supported by Jesse Campbell on Diachello with a score of 30.10.

The icing on the cake was provided today by Tim Price on Vitali. His score of 25.60 was extremely competitive.

It means that after the first of the three stages of the competition – with cross-country and showjumping to follow – the New Zealanders are all handily placed. Tim Price is 5th, Campbell 15th and Jonelle Price 17th. The leader is German evening legend Michael Jung who, riding Chipmunk FRH, scored just 21.10 to lead from Briton Oliver Townsend on Ballaghmor Class with 23.6.

Jung, already with three Olympic gold medals and a silver in his top drawer, is favoured, but the New Zealanders are all in the hunt and are looking forward to tomorrow’s cross-country.

In the team competition, which is extremely tight, New Zealand are poised in third place on 86.40, behind leaders Britain, 78.30, and Germany, 80.40. The contest is so close that 10th-placed Switzerland are still strongly in contention with 99.20 points.

Tim Price, who has only been riding Vitali since last October, was delighted with how the dressage went.

“It was a little glimpse of what he’s capable of,” Price said. “He went really well. He showed a little bit of his age and stage with a couple of little moments, but he kept coming back to me and executed pretty well.

“We haven’t been together long, in terms of a partnership but it is very encouraging.”

Price said he was pleased to see the team in third position. “We wanted to be a solid team today. We’re only a little nation with a few to choose from, so our goal was to be solid.”

New Zealand team manager Graeme Thom said a team score of 86.40 was above expectations.

“We would have been happy to be in the 88-89 range and have come in below that,” he said. “It’s fantastic. It means that for a change we don’t have to play catch-up after the dressage.”