PETER CHARLES and the grey Benetton set pulses racing in the Irish camp yesterday when he was the first of 39 finalists to find the answer to Linda Allen's individual show jumping challenge. But the raised hopes were to be cruelly dashed, just as they had been in Thursday's team decider, and with two fences down over a seriously demanding second round track, the European champion plummetted right out of the reckoning to finish 11th overall.
Charles was bitterly disappointed when his Belgian bred gelding kicked out the pole over the water ditch in the middle of the bogey combination and also lowered the front rail of a huge over two from home. But, in spite of the sweltering heat and draining humidity, Charles refused to make excuses for either himself or his horse.
"Yes, he was a bit tired, but I don't really think he was looking at the water in the combination, that's just making excuses. He just didn't get high enough. Then he got a bit sharp towards the end and just had that second rail off. I shouldn't really be disappointed, because he's jumped very well. But I am because we could have had two medals. But I've got a better horse for Sydney.
The Irish squad flew home last night and Charles joins Macken at Dun Laoghaire show today, where Macken teams up with James Kernan's home bred Touchdown for the first time.
Both Macken and Jessica Chesney went out with two fences down yesterday morning but, if the new combination clicks, Macken has the option of riding the stallion at the Dublin show and it would be a welcome boost as the Longford born jockey is short of horsepower for the RDS. His top mare Miss FAN has been sidelined with a knee injury and the Dutch bred Schalkhaar will be given a break after the flight home from Atlanta.
German fortunes seemed to be on a similar downward curve to the Irish, following the withdrawal of Barcelona individual winner Ludger Beerbaum, whose mare Ratina sprained a fetlock while claiming team gold last week. Denied his chance, Beerbaum immediately switched into training mode to help out team mate and national champion Ulrich Kirchhoff. The 28 year old blossomed under Beerbaum's tutelage to claim the honours with the only double clear jumping second last in yesterday's final.
Kirchhoff, who only sprang to international prominence last year when winning the Hickstead Grand Prix and the Volvo World Cup qualifier at Millstreet, has a true jumping machine in the scopey chestnut Jus de Pomme, who never laid a toe on a pole throughout the week's jumping.
The medal wasn't round his neck yet, but it wasn't long before Kirchhoff could celebrate his second gold of the Games as, last man in, Holland's Jan Tops saw his chances slide away at the first part of the treble.
The silver and bronze were still on offer however and, in a seven way jump off, Switzerland's Will Melliger and Calvaro, the gigantic grey tipped as one of the hot favourites, rocketed through the finish more than three seconds faster than French girl Alexandra Lederman to slot in behind the German.
