Double eventing gold medallist Mark Todd heads to Britain tomorrow for the final leg of a quest to earn selection for the Olympic Games in August.
In a late bid for Games selection, Todd successfully completed the first leg of the Olympic qualifying criteria at the Puhinui three-day
event last month and needs to complete another three-star competition within the set guidelines to be considered.
The 1984 and 1988 Olympic gold medallist has pinned his hopes on reaching the target at the Saumur three-day event in France on May 15-18 aboard 10-year-old grey gelding Gandalf, who he only acquired in January.
Failing that, Todd, 52, has one other chance at an event in Braham, England, in June.
"I am very comfortable and happy with Gandalf," Todd said.
In the past three months Todd has had to learn what makes his new horse tick, spend extra time on its fitness, travel to competitions to gain qualification and iron out technical glitches.
"We'll do another couple of competitions in the UK and again I won't have a lot of time before Saumur. Hopefully if that all goes well then I can just concentrate on the buildup towards Beijing," Todd said.
Competing with the shortlist of eight riders for five spots in the Games team, Todd said he was excited by, and looking forward to, the challenge.
"I don't really know how I rate in form against some of the others but obviously when I go to Saumur I will need to put up a good performance to catch the selectors' eye," he said.
Todd and Heelan Tompkins are the last of the New Zealand-based riders to head to Britain.
Athens Olympian Tompkins left last Saturday after winning a World Cup three-star qualifier at Kihikihi on 11-year-old bay gelding Sugoi. Tompkins, 30, was the top New Zealand rider at Athens in 2004 when she finished seventh.
"I just want him [Sugoi] to settle in when we get to England," he said.
"The big events that I wanted to do are done now and any events I enter over there will not be big, exciting ones of note. They are going to be events that are good training events for him."
The final Games team of five riders - four team and one individual - will be named in late June.
- NZPA
