Australia, hosts for next year's Olympics, has a stranglehold on the top placings after the first day of dressage at the IFG three-star international at Punchestown, which is a qualifying run for the Sydney 2000 Games.
Merran Wallis tops the field with the talented Gershwin, with compatriot Matt Ryan, double Olympic gold medallist in Barcelona seven years ago, sharing second place with the Belgian Constantin van Ryckevorsel.
Wallis originally hails from Sydney and is determined to return there as part of the Olympic squad next summer. The 32year-old is now based in Leicestershire and believes that she has the horsepower to realise her dream in the form of the 12-year-old Gershwin.
Gershwin has missed almost two years with a leg injury, but finished 10th at Boekelo last October. The gelding held overnight sixth place at the French three-star in Saumur last month, but developed colic and had to be withdrawn, so was then re-routed to Punchestown.
Van Ryckevorsel had also been on the Saumur startlist with Otis, but a fall at the fourth meant a change of plan with the Australian export and he now shares second place with Matt Ryan riding Kibah Sandstone, the horse that came straight to Punchestown after shedding his jockey in the Lake at Badminton last Saturday.
Best of the Irish is Sasha Harrison, who finished fifth here last year. Riding in the worst of the weather with a horrendous hailstorm drumming on her back, the 24-year-old managed to conjure an extremely workmanlike test from All Love Du Fenaud to slot into equal eighth.
The two-star rankings are also dominated by visiting riders, with British duo Pippa Funnell and Emily Clarke sharing the lead ahead of Julie Robinson. Funnell, who finished sixth at Badminton with Supreme Rock, is confident that tomorrow's cross-country course will suit the Irish-bred General Salute, even though the nine-year-old ex-racehorse gave her a dramatic fall into the water when leading at Weston Park last October in his only other three-day start.
IFG three-star (placings after first day of dressage): 1, Australia's Gershwin (Merran Wallis) 76 penalties; equal 2, Australia's Kibah Sandstone (Matt Ryan) and Belgium's Otis (Constantin van Ryckevorsel) 79; equal 4, Britain's Walk On Top (Pippa Funnell) and All Black II (Polly Clarke) 90; 6, New Zealand's Diamond Hall Red (Mark Todd), 91; best Irish placings - equal 8, All Love Du Fenaud (Sasha Harrison) 95; equal 17, Mr Mullins (Nicola Cassidy) 104.
Two-star (placings after dressage): Equal 1, Britain's General Salute (Pippa Funnell) and Glengarry (Emily Clarke) 77 penalties; 3, Britain's Just Dominic (Julie Robinson) 84; 4, Dutch Antilles' Earl Grey (Eddy Stibbe) 85; 5, Switzerland's Ringwood Cockatoo (Nadine Sola-Perret) 87; 6, America's Cloudnine VII (Karen Reuter) 91; 7, Ireland's Clonlea Dusty (Nicola Cassidy) 92.
