Equestrian: Todd settles for runner-up

BADMINTON - Mark Todd reckons he now holds the record for coming second at the Badminton horse trials.

He has won three times, but yesterday had to settle for the runner-up rosette for Word For Word, behind Scotland's Ian Stark and his New Zealand-bred mount Jaybee.

Todd has now been second four times - twice on Charisma, in 1984 and 1985, and now twice in a row - last year on Broadcast News.

But the winner in 1980, 1994 and 1996 was thrilled with the effort of Word For Word, the nine-year-old he is aiming for next year's Olympics.

Stark was a popular winner, though he emphasised he was a Scot and British despite his claim earlier this week to be an honorary Kiwi, with two New Zealand-bred horses here.

"You're lucky you were on a Kiwi," Todd told Stark.
Jaybee is by Norfolk Air from Belliza and was bred by Ross and Delwyn McCarroll of Cambridge. The horse raced in New Zealand under the name Jon Blair.

With the new scoring system, there was little excitement left on show-jumping day as 10 fences separated the top three riders. Under the old scoring system, just three fences would have separated the trio. Both Stark and Todd knocked one rail down yesterday.

Todd had led the contest after the dressage with Broadcast News but retired the horse when it struggled in the heavy going on the cross country.

New Zealand finished with four riders in the top 11.

Andrew Nicholson capped off his magnificent cross-country round on New York to secure fifth, and also took 11th on his other ride, Merillion.

His two top places here, as well as second and eighth at Saumur, France, a fortnight ago have given him a big early lead in the world rider rankings.

Daniel Jocelyn, at his first Badminton, was eighth on Silence.

Jocelyn, aged 28, who was fifth at Burghley on the same horse last year, has now had two superb finishes at major championship level and will be pressing hard for the Sydney Olympics next year.

Nicholson paid tribute to his young horse New York for managing just one rail down in the showjumping after its tremendous effort in the endurance test.

New York was drawn last of the 70 starters, and suffered the worst of the conditions, but still came home clear.
The horse was heavily penalised though for missing the time - which riders had said would have been impossible to get, even in good weather. "After his major workout, he jumped really well," Nicholson said.

Although his other horse, Merillion, knocked three rails in the showjumping, it maintained 11th position.

Winner Stark first rode Jaybee at the Puhinui horse trials in 1997, and later bought it.

"I always thought he was a good horse," Stark said. "I had big hopes for him and he's proved me right."

Stark and Todd both claimed ownership for their country of Jaybee, with Stark saying the horse had a British-bred sire, to which Todd added that it had clearly got its talent from its mother.

The furious rows over the design of the cross-country course continued to simmer yesterday.

Director Hugh Thomas said that while he might have made the course a little twisty, that had not been a real problem.

He defended the new scoring system, though saying it could be reviewed. However, it was unlikely to change before the Sydney Olympics. - NZPA