Equestrian: New mount holds up

Heelan Tompkins remained on track for another Olympic three-day eventing campaign after finishing second in the three-star CCI class at the Richfields International Horse Trial in Te Kauwhata yesterday.

The retirement of her horse Glengarrick, whom she rode at the Athens Olympics and last year's world championship, left Tompkins in need of a qualifying ride on her new horse Stubben Sugoi to have any chance of being in contention for next year's Olympics.

Clear cross-country and show jumping rounds kept her firmly in contention. One of the other contenders for an Olympic berth, Matthew Grayling, yesterday won the class on Gordon by a whisker.

He picked up 51.2 penalties to the 51.3 from fellow-New Plymouth rider Tompkins.