Equestrian: Blyth's spirit means the team comes first

By EUGENE BINGHAM

SYDNEY - Olympic champion Blyth Tait is prepared to sacrifice the chance of a rare double in pursuit of a longed-for team gold in the three-day event.

New Zealand's equestrian dream team is so determined to pick up the one prize that has eluded them, that each rider is ready to put everything on the line at Sydney.

In Tait's case, he will give up the chance to defend his 1996 individual title on Ready Teddy and ride him in the teams event instead if the selectors think it will improve New Zealand's chance of winning as a team.

"It would be very nice to have the opportunity [to defend the individual title on Ready Teddy] but we've talked about trying to win the team medal because it's eluded us to date," said Tait. "I'm very prepared to be part of the team."

Tait and Ready Teddy, the current world and Olympic champions, would become only the third pair to win back-to-back individual golds if they managed to repeat their Atlanta performance at Sydney next week. It was an achievement Mark Todd and Charisma managed in 1984 and 1988.

The selectors will decide on Friday which horse and rider combinations will compete in the teams phase over the first four days of competition at Horsley Park.

They will also decide whether Tait and Ready Teddy compete in that event or the individual competition, which immediately follows it.

Tait's willingness to sacrifice his personal ambitions illustrates the team's desire to win this time.

Despite New Zealand's dominance of the sport since 1984 - New Zealand have claimed one third of all the eventing medals on offer since then, including three individual golds - the team have never won. The best they managed was silver at Barcelona in 1992 when the gold slipped away from them after a disastrous final jumping round from Andrew Nicholson and Spinning Rhombus.

Todd is due to retire after the Olympics and is determined to clinch the one title that is missing from his impressive collection.

"It's the one thing we haven't won. We are all very individual riders and one of our strengths as a team is that we are all strong as individuals. We are all good friends and we all get on really well together.

The New Zealand equestrian manager, Ross Coles, said the team wanted the title desperately.

"We're fortunate in that we've got the equestrian dream team, if you like," he said.

"They have all been there before, they have all tried in various teams, they are all strong competitors individually. It's not hard to bring them together because they have this common resolve."

The riders will be allowed to inspect the endurance course tomorrow.

The four based in Europe - Tait, Todd, Nicholson and newcomer Paul O'Brien - are already settled into the equestrian venue. The formidable Waikato combination of Vaughn Jefferis and Bounce are due to fly into Sydney tonight.

New Zealand are up against an Australian combination aiming for a third successive teams title, while the British and the Americans have also put together powerful challenges.

Todd was not prepared to pick whom he saw as the major threat.

"The thing about this sport is that it's not just an athlete you're dealing with. You are dealing with another animal in the horse.

"Anything can go wrong, and quite often does."