Splaine takes a tumble

SHOW JUMPING European Championships: Ireland's hopes of a repeat of the golden 2001 European show jumping championship result were dashed in Italy yesterday when Irish pathfinder Robert Splaine retired after a fall leaving the team 10th going into today's two-round team decider.

Splaine's stallion Coolcorron Cool Diamond, which has been coughing since Tuesday, will take no further part after injuring his right foreleg in the fall. This means Ireland will have no discard score for today's Nations Cup to decide the team medals.

Splaine was carrying an early four faults as he steered Coolcorron Cool Diamond to a testing double-three from home, but the stallion chipped in an extra stride and hit the triple bar going in. That left him with a big stretch to get out over a wide oxer and the horse paddled through it, catapulting Splaine out of the saddle.

Under championship rules he could have remounted and continued, but the horse was obviously sore and Splaine retired.

With three good results from the remaining trio, Ireland could have pulled back up the rankings, but Harry Marshall - making his championship debut with the mare Ado Annie - left the arena with a disappointing three fences on the floor that was to leave him 37th individually.

Dermott Lennon gave a masterly display to return just four faults with the inexperienced stallion Condios. The 10-year-old hit the first part of the double that had caught out Splaine's horse, but was otherwise foot-perfect. He ended the day in 31st, two fences off the leaders.

With prospects of a team medal now out of the window, all hopes were pinned on Jessica Kurten for individual honours. Kurten and Castle Forbes Maike had led going into the individual final in Athens last year only to drop out of the reckoning with three fences down. Yesterday they left rails from three fences on the floor and, with a foot in the water, added 16 seconds to their overall time. That left them in 44th at close of play.

Germany have a stranglehold on the team and individual medals, with Marcus Ehning 2.5 seconds ahead of his closest rival, Belgium's Jos Lansink. Holland's Gerco Schroder is third, fractionally ahead of Britain's Nick Skelton.

Defending champion Christian Ahlmann, who took an early lead, was eventually relegated to sixth, but that result, plus Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum's 19th has put the Germans on top in the team standings. The French are 1.48 adrift in second, with the Dutch a hair's breadth behind in third. Ireland's score of 27.35 leaves them 10th and six fences off the lead.

EUROPEAN SHOW JUMPING CHAMPIONSHIPS, individual placings (after first leg) - 1, Germany's Gitania (Marcus Ehning), 0 penalties; 2, Belgium's Cavalor Cumano, (Jos Lansink), 1.34; 3, Holland's Eurocommerce Monaco (Gerco Schroder), 1.81; Irish placings, 31, Condios (Dermott Lennon), 7.29; 37, Ado Annie (Harry Marshall), 8.73; 44, Castle Forbes Maike (Jessica Kurten), 11.33.

Teams - 1, Germany, 6 penalties; 2, France, 7.48; 3, Holland, 7.76; 4, Britain, 12.03; 5, Sweden, 13.75; 6, Belgium, 14.04; 10, Ireland, 27.35.