Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat and Nino Des Buissonnets via FEI.
Steve Guerdat, 30, and his 11-year-old gelding Nino Des Buissonnets were the only pair to jump clean over Bob Ellis’ two tricky, individual final courses today, cinching the first show jumping gold for Switzerland since 1924.
The Netherlands’ Gerco Schroder and Ireland’s Cian O’Connor, both having accrued a single time penalty in the final rounds, jumped off for silver and bronze. Schroder was first in the ring, jumping quick and clean, forcing O’Connor to put the pedal to the medal–and it looked like O’Connor might do it, riding very boldly, until he found a long spot to the final oxer and had it down behind. Schroder took silver, and O’Connor, still looking very pleased, took bronze–turns out O’Connor’s effort produced Ireland’s first medal of the London Games, the FEI reports. To make things extra impressive, O’Connor got the call-up to the Olympic team when Dennis Lynch’s nomination was withdrawn, and was in reserve individual position this morning until Rolf-Göran Bengtsson’s horse was withdrawn at vet check.
Team USA’s Rich Fellers and Flexible had an unfortunate rail and time penalty in the first round, but jumped the second clear, finishing eighth behind Great Britain’s Nick Skelton and Scott Brash, both of whom had a rail in the second round. McLain Ward and Antares, the only other US pair to qualify for individual finals, had 12 faults in the first round, missing the 5-penalty cutoff to advance to the second.
With Olympic eventing and show jumping now completed, Team USA has yet to win a medal. Our final hope now rests upon WEG individual bronze medalists Steffen Peters and Ravel, our sole Grand Prix Freestyle pair, who enter the ring at 1:45 local/8:45 am EDT tomorrow.
Individual Show Jumping Results: [Click Here]
NBC Replay: [Click Here]
Read More: [Horse & Hound] [World of Show Jumping]
