Equestrian: Now it's Mark's turn to ride luck

Mark Todd's year keeps getting better, while his rival Blyth Tait says his just keeps getting worse.

While Tait won everything in sight last season, including pipping Todd for the world title, the Olympic champion had to watch Todd win a record-equalling fifth Burghley title from an English hospital bed.

Todd, the 1984 and 1988 Olympic champion, picked up his fifth win at Burghley riding the nine-year-old Diamond Hall Red.

He was also third on Word For Word.

Tait's injury and the death of British rider Simon Long took the gloss off Todd's win.

Diamond Hall Red was at his first major championship, and had never been placed at an international three-day event before.

Todd was "annoyed" with Word For Word who knocked four rails down in the showjumping to slip from the overnight lead to third.

Todd said the fourth death in British horse trials since May was difficult to accept. Riders were now being surveyed on whether they wanted the new scoring system, introduced this year, to be dropped.

Most of the riders wanted a return to the old system, and a working party set up to devise a new scoring method.

Though it is unclear if the new system can be connected with the deaths, and other injury falls, critics suggest the harsh time penalties now imposed on the cross country has forced riders to go too fast, or to tackle direct, difficult jumping options at fences.

Todd said eventing was a risk sport, and most people at Burghley seemed philosophical about Long's death.

Last season it was Tait who won a quinella at Burghley, first on Chesterfield and second on Aspyring.

But during this year's cross country Chesterfield stumbled coming out of a sunken water fence, trapping Tait against the jump, and snapping the rider's right femur.

Chesterfield was not hurt, but a badly bruised Tait had a pin inserted in his leg and is unlikely to ride again before Christmas.

"I guess if you've got to say there's one positive thing, I'm far enough away from the Olympics to make a full recovery."

He said he was pleased for Todd, but could not wait for the year 2000 to roll around. - NZPA