KEY POINTS:
Bathed in sweat and sporting a white knitted tie, New Zealand's equestrian legend still succeeded in looking the part when he made a grand entrance to the Olympic eventing arena, shortly after dawn amid the cloying heat at Sha Tin.
Venturing into the dressage ring at the absurdly
early hour of 6.30am, the double Olympic gold medallist then took a shade over five minutes to really announce his arrival - nine months after ending eight-years of retirement.
Todd and Gandalf, the first of 73 combinations scrutinised by a three-member judging panel, accrued a respectable 49.4 penalties.
They were never going to be smooth enough to lead the competition - and will likely be midfield by the time Jean Renaud Adde of France completes the elongated component tomorrow morning.
But it was still easily the fledgling combination's most precise performance, one which delighted Todd and New Zealand's team management.
"I really couldn't have hoped to have gone any better than that at this stage of his career," Todd said.
The 10-year-old grey gelding, in his first major competition, was only rarely out of alignment.
"He's improved a lot, and he will keep on improving. Maybe by London (the 2012 Olympics) he'll be a good horse," smiled Todd as he reflected on this pivotal moment of his comeback.
"It's been a little bit hard getting myself back in gear but honestly being here, it doesn't feel like I've been away at all. Those eight years have slipped by very quickly.'
"The most difficult thing is I've only had one horse to ride. Until February I hardly jumped a fence in eight years.
"It's getting your eye in and getting your timing back .... I'm not where I was eight years ago, but hopefully I'm good enough."
Although Todd and Gandalf have only been together since January, the 52-year-old's enduring ability saw him chosen to lead off New Zealand five-rider team.
"I'm used as cannon fodder basically, send the old bugger out there and see what happens I guess," he laughed.
"They thought I had enough experience to go out there and lead the way."
Todd, who set the alarm for 4am, admitted he was stepping into the unknown by riding first.
"It's always difficult. You never know whether the judges have had a good night's sleep, they haven't had a chance to have a wine at that time of the morning.
"We don't know what sort of mood they're in.
"But I'm happy with the mark, and we'll go on from here."
Fortunately Hong Kong's inclement weather cleared, though it was still an uncomfortable experience for both horse and rider. Globules of spit regularly fell from Gandalf's chin while Todd's sky blue shirt was saturated.
"I tried to keep my tailcoat off for as long as I could but I had to put it on seven minutes before I went in," Todd said, equating his uniform to sitting in a sauna.
Todd, who won the individual eventing gold at Los Angeles and Seoul aboard Charisma, was among the first batch of eight riders and was placed third at the break in the first session.
Australia's Clayton Fredericks (Ben Along Time) held the early lead with 37 penalties while American Amy Tryon and Poggio II were second on 46.5.
Heelan Tompkins (Sugoi) is the other New Zealand rider competing in the morning session while Andrew Nicholson and Lord Killinghurst, considered New Zealand's leading medal hope, perform in the night session (11.43pm NZT).
Joe Mayer (Snip) and Caroline Powell (Lenamore) have their tests in the final session tomorrow.
- NZPA
