Alysia JudgeTeam GB have secured their second silver medal of the Games, thanks to North Yorkshire’s Nicola Wilson and fellow British competitors Tina King, William Fox, Mary King and Zara Phillips.
The success came in Equestrian Team Eventing, that sees five riders representing their nation compete in dressage, cross country and jumping. Invented as a military cavalry test requiring mastery of several riding disciplines, scores are decided through ‘penalties’ with points incurred for falls, errors or prolonged completion times. The three lowest, and therefore best, scores for each country add up to form the team’s score.
Wilson, from Morton-on-Swale near Northallerton rode on Opposition Buzz finishing the three day event with a score of 55.70 after racking up four penalty points in her last show jumping round.
The final team score stood as 138.20, beaten by Germany who achieved gold with a winning score of 133.70. New Zealand finished in third place having accumulated 144.40 points.
The German team put on a formidable show at Greenwich Park, having secured their gold even before their last rider Ingrid Klimke had gone. Britain, however, locked horns with New Zealand in a close battle for silver, ultimately coming out on top to secure Britain’s eighteenth Olympic post-war eventing medal.
