KEY POINTS:
BEIJING- Kirk Webby protected his Olympic Games show jumping lifeline in Hong Kong last night, on a horse familiar with near-death experiences.
Webby and Sitah, originally named as the New Zealand team's reserve combination, continue to defy the cull in the individual competition at Sha Tin, albeit by the slimmest of margins.
They recorded 12 penalties in the third round but a combined total of 24 was enough to secure a three-way tie for 33rd as the field was reduced to 35.
When the competition resumes on Thursday they will attempt to creep into the top 20 after the penultimate round, a goal that admittedly seems unrealistic.
United States-based Webby has been New Zealand's only active rider since he, Bruce Goodin and Sharn Wordley were 14th when the team competition was reduced to the top nine.
Webby has emerged as something of an accidental hero, a feel good story to lighten what was otherwise been a disappoinment for a New Zealand team that had designs on a top eight placing, and at least one rider in the top 15.
Sitah very nearly did not make the reserves, never mind Hong Kong after requiring life-saving surgery less than four months ago.
The 13-year-old mare, instrumental in ensuring New Zealand satisfied the Olympic selection criteria in Germany earlier this year, was diagnosed with equine colic - a common and potentially fatal stomach problem.
"She had a twisted colon," Webby told NZPA.
"They have to cut them open and untwist their insides. The vet said if the surgery had been delayed another 30 minutes she'd be dead."
Fortunately Sitah pulled through but the time frame of her rehabilitation was not guaranteed, so Webby was relegated from an automatic choice to emergency, pending his horse's recovery.
"They don't normally come back (recover) so quick, she's as tough as old nails," Webby said of the experienced jumper he acquired from leading American rider McLain Ward two years ago.
But with the team of Daniel Meech, Bruce Goodin, Sharn Wordley and Katie McVean chosen before Sitah passed her final vet check Webby went to Hong Kong expecting to watch.
However, his status changed when Meech's horse Sorbas was stricken by a leg infection, opening the way for the 27-year-old based in New Jersey to join Wordley and McVean as first time Olympians.
Although he has made the most of his opportunity, Webby still felt for Meech, who was 12th at the Athens Olympics in 2004.
"It's been a tough time. Daniel's horse was the best horse was sure. It was a real shame for us that he couldn't go."
There was also serious doubt over whether Webby would make to the Olympics, regardless of Sitah's health.
A visa muddle risked seeing him barred from returning to the United States but once his plight was publicised his professional sportsman's status was processed two weeks before he was due to train with the New Zealand team in Europe.
"It was pretty scary, shit yeah," said Webby who risked having to relocate his American wife and two children.
He and Robin even got married in June after a decade together to try and solve the immigration impasse.
"It wasn't the ideal circumstances but we had to chase things along. I'm really lucky she's been so supportive," he said.
"We'd gone through hell to get Sitah back healthy. To be stopped at the last hurdle would have been hard to take."
- NZPA
