Equestrian: Squad omission baffles eventer

Caroline Powell. File photo / Getty Images

Caroline Powell, New Zealand's best eventing rider at the 2008 Olympics, remains baffled by her omission from the high performance squad for the London Games.

Powell finished 14th in Hong Kong (the equestrian satellite base to the Beijing Games) and backed up by winning the 2010 Burghley horse trials on Lenamore - one of only a handful of four-star events on the eventing calendar. Riding the now retired Mac MacDonald, Powell was part of the New Zealand team which won bronze at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky.

However, Equestrian Sports New Zealand has opted to name just a four-person squad (Andrew Nicholson, Mark Todd, Jonathan Paget and Clarke Johnstone) to prepare for London. A maximum of five riders can be picked. Nicholson is ranked three in the world, Todd 12th, Paget 14th and Johnstone 18th. Powell is ranked 15th, while no other New Zealander features in the top 65.

In ESNZ's defence, they are unsure whether Lenamore, Powell's best horse in recent seasons, will be fit and capable of competing at London. The grey gelding, known simply as "Ed" at home, will be 19 during the Olympics and owners Lexie and Janie MacKinnon may choose to retire him permanently.

The idea has already been mooted but Lenamore is expected to feature at the Badminton horse trials in May which could see him granted an Olympic reprieve.

The MacKinnons retired Lenamore from overseas competition in February 2010 (his dressage apparently suffered when he travelled) but, as the Olympics are in London, there would be no need for any laborious quarantine procedures and he could be given a final hurrah.

Powell's non-selection is complicated by claims she has four horses capable of competing at a four-star event like the Olympics. They include 12-year-old gelding Boston Two Tip on whom she finished 31st at Badminton last year.

"I'm a bit baffled over how the decision was made because I feel like I've got four qualified horses. Fair enough, Lenamore is an older horse and would have to come through Badminton well but, if he's well enough, he won't miss much [on the cross-country or showjumping].

"This won't affect how I'm training. It's no time to panic, I'm confident of getting to London. You can get bitter and twisted but really it's just a job. The Games are six months away, so everyone's horses have to be healthy in July, not January. It's a bit of a wait-and-see project but past experience and knowledge at the Olympics can be invaluable.

"I also went to the test event at Greenwich Park [in July]. You need a nippy, fit horse to manoeuvre [which Lenamore is at just 15 hands and two inches] because those fences were quite hard."

However, when the then-17-year-old Lenamore helped Powell win Burghley in 2010, he was the oldest horse to do so - a statistic likely to have sown further doubt in the minds of ESNZ.

Powell lives in Kelso in the Scottish border country. The 38-year-old moved to the United Kingdom in 1988 as a groom.