Joy turned to despair for New Zealand's highest-placed rider Shane Dougan when he was eliminated from the World Equestrian Games endurance race in Germany today.
Dougan of Eketahuna and his stallion Vigar Riffal completed the 160km race in Aachen in eighth place but officials deemed he had made a course
error and eliminated him.
New Zealand management has appealed the decision.
One other rider from the United Arab Emirates, who finished one place behind Dougan, has also been eliminated for an error on what was a clearly marked track through hilly forest and woods.
Only 65 of the 150 starters completed the course, the last finishers returning to the main stadium in Achen 16 hours after starting.
Most of those eliminated suffered from lameness of the horse and metabolic problems such as muscle fatigue and dehydration.
Dougan was almost 29 minutes behind the winner, Spain's Miguel Vila Ubach, who posted a time of nine hours 12 minutes 27 seconds.
Marlborough's Kylie Avery, at 20 the team's youngest member at Aachen, and her nine-year-old part-Arabian stallion Silands Jasark also performed with distinction to be the only other New Zealand combination to finish in 22nd place.
New Zealand received an early setback when Brian Tiffan and Sonny failed the first veterinary check with the horse pulling up lame.
New Zealand also have an eventing team, an individual showjumping rider and a vaulter competing later in the programme at Aachen.
- NZPA
