Equestrian: Course is a beauty, says Todd

New Zealand three-day eventing coach Mark Todd gave the Olympic Games cross-country course his seal of approval after the team walked the course yesterday.

The five-strong team take on the cross-country tomorrow, after completing two days of dressage.

Dan Jocelyn and Silence have been selected as team trail-blazers, competing first to give the others feedback on the quirks of the course.

Former world and 1996 Olympic champion Blyth Tait will ride second, then Heelan Tompkins, Matthew Grayling and Andrew Nicholson.

Todd and the riders were positive about the course.

"It's beautifully built, and while it is not as testing as we thought it might be, there are some good questions there," Todd said. "The first water and the sunken road later in the course are good tests."

Time and heat will play a big part.

"It's not a course to be cocky about as there are some quite narrow fences," he said. "There are still plenty of places to make mistakes, and we just hope it is not us making them."

All five New Zealand horses passed initial veterinary checks.

"All the horses trotted up well," Todd said.

"They have also being doing very well here and we are very pleased with how they are handling the conditions in Athens so far."

Two of the Austrian team had a nervous few minutes when they had to present their horses twice to the veterinary panel, but eventually all horses in the competition were approved to start.

Due to the clear veterinary tests of the selected New Zealand team, travelling reserve Jonelle Richards will not compete.

Richards said making it as far as Athens was more than she had ever imagined and she was now setting herself for Burghley, an elite English three-day event, early next month.

- NZPA