Equestrian: Goodin still in the hunt

Equestrian Bruce Goodin was happy to sacrifice a couple of rails at the Olympic Games on Thursday as he targets his horse Lenaro for Sunday's first showjumping final.

Goodin comfortably qualified in the top 45 for the final, a clear round on Monday giving him a comfortable cushion for the second and third qualifying rounds on Thursday.

Lenaro dropped rails and twice dipped a hoof into the water to pick up eight penalties in the second round and 12 faults in the third to finish with a penalty score from the three qualifying rounds of 20.5.

But Goodin was not too bothered by the water woes and falling poles.

He said after Lenaro put a hoof in the water in the second qualifier, he had decided to over-ride the water jump the next time to teach the horse not to make a mistake.

That aggression was always going to make it difficult to steady immediately for the difficult treble after the water, so Lenaro dropping two rails there was not unexpected.

``Its a bit of a problem with a water jump where if they make a mistake they don't really learn from it and ... they can often then get lazy at the water.

``Thinking about Sunday I over-rode it thinking ... if I have to sacrifice a couple of fences in the combination so be it because I had that cushion.''

Goodin said Lenaro was a bit tired with the two rounds, but he expected him to be fine for Sunday's jumping.

Scores return to scratch for the top 45 on Sunday morning, with the top 20 qualifying for the medals round later in the day.

Goodin is aiming to be the first New Zealander to qualify for the top 20, and says he will prepare quietly over the next couple of days.

Based in Europe for 10 years, Goodin has only ridden Lenaro since April after taking on the horse from a Norwegian princess with whom he has been romantically-linked.

Princess Martha Louise is in Sydney to watch the Games. Although ridden by the Norwegian, the horse is owned by Goodin's business partners, including friend Shane Thomson, the former New Zealand cricketer.

Goodin said he and the horse had just clicked since their partnership began. ``The more times I get in the ring the better I feel he is going. I was very, very happy with him today.''

The other New Zealander in the field, Peter Breakwell missed the cut, although his nine-year-old Leonson showed a marked improvement in jumping today.

His first round penalty score of 20.75 had 12 faults added in the second round and another 16 in the third for a final score of 48.75.

Breakwell will return to his United States base now, where the future of Leonson will be decided. The horse is part-owned by Nancy Clarke, wife of billionaire Netscape founder Jim Clarke.

Germany today secured the team showjumping medal, just edging ahead of Switzerland who won silver.

- NZPA