Equestrian: No cash worries for Kiwi Olympic eventers

By TERRY MADDAFORD

While some sports battle for funding and other resources in their Olympic build-up, there are no such worries for the yet-to-be named New Zealand equestrian team.

The team are not due to be named until July 3, but already more than $1 million has been earmarked for the riders and their horses in what is seen as one of New Zealand's best potential medal sports at Sydney 2000.

Jim Wright, who heads the three-day event selection panel, and team vet Wally Neiderer were in the United States to watch Blyth Tait's triumph in the highly rated Kentucky four-star event last weekend.

They are now in England for Badminton this weekend where eight New Zealand riders will be in action.

Joining Olympic certainties Tait, Mark Todd and Andrew Nicholson will be Paul O'Brien, on the aptly named Enzed, Joe Meyer, Virginia Loisel, Caroline Powell and former Olympian Andrew Bennie.

Wright will return to New Zealand in time for the three-day event at Taupo from May 17 to 21, the last chance for New Zealand-based riders to press their claims.

Many home-based riders will also compete at Tauherenikau this weekend in a one-day three-star event which will put horses and riders through dressage, cross-country (but not the endurance phase) and showjumping.

Vaughn Jefferis, who cleaned up at Clevedon last weekend, will take his second mount, Curious George, to both Tauherenikau and Taupo but is still likely to ride his former world championship winner, Bounce, in Sydney.

But he, like the others, will have to wait before learning whether he will be named for the team or individual event at the Olympics.

"From a budgeting point of view, it would be better for us if some riders took two horses and rode both events in Sydney," said Equestrian New Zealand high performance manager Sarah Herrick.

"I would be very surprised if Blyth Tait did not have between two and four horses capable of competing at the Olympics.

"I would expect at least one and probably two riders will be in both the team and individual events. In a best-case scenario, we could have five riders and seven horses competing in Sydney but there could be as many as nine horses go into quarantine."

And that is an expensive business.

Almost all the horses will have to be taken by air from England to Sydney. They must stay in the secure quarantine zone for six weeks from August 22-23 until October 3-4.

There is a budget of $580,000 for Olympic preparation alone. Other costs, for training and so on, will take that figure to over $1 million.

There remains the possibility of two showjumping representatives and one, for the first time, in dressage.

Kallista Field has qualified New Zealand for dressage and is being challenged by Catherine Smallbone, while In showjumping, Bruce Goodin and Catriona McLeod won two qualifying spots for New Zealand and seem likely to win selection.