- Australia’s hopes of winning a medal in the equestrian team event have been hit
- A horse stood lame on Sunday
- It means that his medal hopes are virtually over.
Australia’s dream of another medal in the eventing team competition has evaporated after one of the horses limped during the cross country section on the spectacular Château de Versailles course.
Kevin McNab, one of the members of the silver medal-winning team in Tokyo three years ago, made the decision to retire his mount Don Quidam midway through his round because he felt there was a problem.
The withdrawal of one of the team’s three horses meant there was no chance of the Australian trio of McNab, Shane Rose and Chris Burton emulating the performance in Japan, as the 200-point penalty for a withdrawal meant the trio had no chance of a team medal in Monday’s show jumping final.
McNab, 46, from Queensland, appeared to be performing well on Don Quidam, a horse he owns at his British base in Surrey and who rode him to silver in Tokyo.
But he did not want to take any risks when he sensed some discomfort and stopped between the fences.
“Devastating news for horse racing,” Matthew Pavlich said on Channel 9.
‘Kevin unfortunately had to get off his horse. His horse was limping and had a tendon problem.
Australia suffered a heavy blow in Paris on Sunday
‘Speaking recently with the Australian team and coaches, it seems Kevin did the right job and got off the horse before there were any more injuries.
“Unfortunately, this means that Kevin is out of the competition today and Australia is now out of medal contention.”
It was a huge disappointment for the team, especially after their first rider out on track on Sunday, Shane Rose, had enjoyed an impressive round, missing out on just 2.80 time penalty points.
All Australian hopes now rested on Toowoomba’s Chris Burton in the individual event. The 42-year-old was in third place with Shadow Man after Saturday’s dressage section.
