Kiwis move up eventing field

Reuters

MOVING UP: Mark Todd has moved up two places on the individual standings, to 26th after vets ruled out two Swedish horses.

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New Zealand's eventing team scored a minor victory before the jumping competition even kicked off tonight, moving up one place from fifth to sixth after two Swedish horses were ruled out at the vet check.

The loss of the two horses meant Sweden fell to just three riders and with the loss of those riders' points they fell back from fifth to sixth, behind the Kiwis, who had all four horses passed fit.

There's a good chance New Zealand could move up further as if the fourth placed Italians knock down just three more rails than the Kiwis.

The elimination of the Swedes meant New Zealanders Caroline Powell and Mark Todd both moved up two places on the individual standings,

Powell to 24th and Todd to 26th. After the first round of team jumping, which starts at 7.15pm (11.15pm NZ time) the top 25 riders go on to jump one more round to determine the individual standings. New Zealand's leading rider is Joe Meyer in 19th place.

The jumping is likely to be a duel between Germany and Australia for both the team and the individual medal.

Great Britain holds third, 37 points ahead of New Zealand but with a full team of five riders. The best three scores count towards the team result.

- © Fairfax NZ News