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These were just some of the comments after the debacle that struck after the Eventing Team Show Jumping Wednesday evening.

The U.S. should have an eventing team bronze and Kim Severson should have an individual silver – instead no team medal and Kim receiving theBronze.

For those of you who don’t know (and I can’t believe it’s any of you) I will set the scene.
I’d better start with the trot-up. William Fox-Pitt (GBR) doesn’t present – I am told that it’s his horse’s stifle – Darren Chiacchia’s Windfall is foot sore and is held for reinspection. Darren said the cross-country course, although it looked very green and was soft to walk on, having been copiously watered (although for the last two days, because of the wind, most of the water blew off to the side), 2 inches under the surface, it was very hard. Add to that, said Darren, that the shape of the course was such that horses’ spent most of the trip on the left lead. That left Windfall footsore in his left front.

On reinspection, Windfall passes. That moves the U.S. into 3rd and the Brits, losing Fox-Pitt’s score, to fourth.

To the team jumping – Julie Richards, Jacob Two Two, and Amy Tryon, Poggio II, both jump clear, while John Williams on Carrick has 12 (“He just didn’t jump high enough,” said Williams) moving Tryon’s score over Williams. Then Darren has eight, including one very cheap rail going into the first combination, so we’re on 8 after two. The Brits have two clear and a four, so Kim Severson has to go clean to clinch the bronze. Beautifully ridden til the last, when she adds a stride and has it down – knowing that rail had dropped the U.S. to fourth behind the Brits, France and Germany, she’s desperately attempting to hold back tears in the interview in the mixed zone. “I feel I’ve let my team down. Mark said I got there early, I thought I was right,” said Kim.

While I’m interviewing Kim, I hear Bettina Hoy, of Germany, has jumped clean on Ringwood Cockatoo, while Nicolas Touzaint, of France, on Galan de Sauvagere, has one down to cut his lead to 1.2 over Hoy.

Soon, we hear the jury is considering one ride, perhaps to re-evaluate time faults. But the computers in the press center have the results, with Germany - Gold on 133.8; France - Silver on 140.4, Great Britain - Bronze on 143; and the U.S. fourth with 145.6.

During team jumping, press is allowed to go to and return from the mixed zone via the stairs next to the riders’ seating, so I am able to sit with George (Morris), Chris (Kappler), McLain (Ward), Kim and Darren. After Darren, our second to last rider, the rules are suddenly changed – no press up those stairs. Now we have to go almost to the end of the stadium to the press seating – infuriating, very time consuming – no way to sit in press seating to watch a U.S. rider and then get to the mixed zone – but once the organizers make a decision, that’s it.

As The Horse of Delaware Valley is just a couple of hours from going to press, I leave the venue to write the eventing team story and e-mail it home. (99% of the time, having the computer in our villa is MUCH more convenient).

Story written and sent, I return to the venue, just in time for the start of individual jumping at 8:45 p.m. (Athens time).

(Life has finally settled into a routine, thank heavens – we park at the USET house, where three vans are available to transport teams and owners, I have Aris’ (one of the drivers) cell phone number, so I can call him from the venue to be picked up.)

Picking up the order of go, I see Hoy has been dropped to eighth and Kim stands second – WHAT’S GOING ON?

I call George (Morris) on cell, but he’s in schooling area with Amy and can’t talk – unable to get into riders’ section, I stand above looking for someone who will know. Luckily, I see Frank Chapot, who comes up to the aisle to explain what happened.

As I said, I didn’t see it as I was in mixed zone, but when Bettina Hoy went into the arena, the jury sounded the starting horn and the time to reach the first fence began. Hoy then went straight through the start, aimed towards the first fence, and then, inexplicably circled (this description comes later from George (Morris), who has seen the tape. He surmises she didn’t like the way her horse was approaching the first fence). Seeing Hoy circle, the jury STOPS the time (the president of the jury is a German (Christoph Hess) and when Hoy recrosses the start, begins time again.

So – on reconsideration, the jury decides to correct itself – the circle is a stop, for four faults, and back-up time adds 14 faults, dropping the Germans to fourth, moving France to Gold, Brits to Silver and U.S. to Bronze.

PANICSVILLE re my story in The Horse – I quickly call my husband, Sandy, the publisher, to tell him of developments. An hour later, after jumping is concluded, talking to lots of people, interviews and numerous calls home, we get the facts pretty straight and some quotes, Sandy rewrites the lead and calls me back to read it to me.

Back to events as they unfolded last night - three-quarters of the way through the individual jumping, the score board shows revised medal standing, returning the Germans to the Gold.
The Germans protested the jury’s decision, and the Appeal Jury revoked the Ground Jury’s change of penalties and reinstated a clear round for Hoy.

Frank (Chapot) said it was clear she had gone through the start, clearly under FEI rules a circle is then four faults.

All Americans, French and Brits are, not surprisingly, incensed!

The French chef and George (Morris) in discussion, agree that the Germans totally control the sport of equestrian. The President of both the Ground Jury and the Appeals Jury is German – as is the show jumping Jury President, where the course designer (Olaf Peterson - also the Show Jumping Course Designer for Eventing)) is also German. The ground in the stadium has been provided by a German company – the jumps are provided by a German company – key players on every committee are German – they have even provided the boxes for the stadiums.

“It’s a disgrace,” said George (Morris). “The Germans control the sport.”

This new (Eventing) format was pushed through by the Germans, the consensus being that they felt removing roads and tracks and steeplechase would help their warmblood horses to be competitive with thoroughbreds – that would enable them to sell more of their horses – it’s all business. Having five team riders instead of four also helps the Germans, who have historically had problems cross-country – this gives them five shots to get three through.

“If I’d done that in a novice event in California, I would have had four faults plus time,” said Amy (Tryon). “It’s one of the first rules you learn in Pony Club – you don’t go through the timers after you enter the ring until you are ready to start.”

Hoy reportedly claims she started, then saw the clock wasn’t running, with crowd noise, it was hard to hear the horn, so she claimed she thought the 40-second clock hadn’t started.

Unfortunately, the tape doesn’t show the clock – but everyone who saw it agrees that the jury stopped the clock ONLY AFTER SHE BEGAN TO CIRCLE.

The Germans control everything, agreed Tryon – pointing out another infraction ignored by the jury.

On cross country, where time was tight, Ingrid Klimke’s Sleep Late slipped between fences and (Klimke) fell (off). Klimke later complained no one was there to help her get back on, but despite that, she had the FASTEST time of anyone on cross-country. John Williams had commented, that afternoon, that she shouldn’t have been proud of that – meaning that going that fast was dangerous to her horse and herself.

“They’ve been giving out yellow cards (warnings) for irresponsible riding a lot, and if that wasn’t irresponsible riding nothing is,” said Tryon. “But she didn’t get a yellow card.” (Editor's Note: Apparently the Eventing Gods intervened. Ingrid Klimke's horse, Sleep Late, passed the Veterinary Inspection on the morning of Show Jumping day; however, she did not Show Jump. Perhaps he was not all right in the warm up.)

“It’s ruined the Olympics,” said George (Morris), “because it started out with one of the biggest disgraces I’ve ever seen. This Olympics will forever be remembered for this.”

The decision of the Appeals Jury can not be appealed.

Mark Phillips just rolled his eyes at me, what was there to say? But Jim Wolf said the French, Brits and U.S. were very seriously considering taking it to, I think he said, the International Court of Appeals. (The Court of Arbitration for Sport.)

George (Morris) talked to Jim (Wolf) this morning, the day after the debacle, and Jim said representatives from the three teams, probably the chefs, coaches and chef de mission, were on their way to the Olympic Village to pursue the matter.

I called Cora after it had happened – about an hour after individual jumping was concluded – and she knew nothing about the (decision of the Jury of Appeal) as the TV had shown the Team Jumping; but, the Iindividual Jumping was yet to come.

Did TV replay the tape of Hoy’s round? (Editor'd Note: No. They did not replay it; but, Hoy's going through the Start Markers twice shows clearly on the Original Tape of Team Show Jumping. 8/20/04 - I stand corrected. Jennifer Chong tells me that the portion of Bettina going through the Start Markers twice WAS replayed during the Individual Show Jumping.)

Anyway, even if the Appeals Jury’s decision is eventually overturned, it will take months – George (Morris) says no way will they overturn it – too much of a mess for the Olympics.
But even if they do, the world has seen the Germans on the center podium both for Team and Individual (Medals), and no one but the cognescenti will know the truth.

How terrible for all three teams, French, Brits and US, who have worked so hard and spent so much money to compete successfully here to have victory snatched from them by a clearly incorrect call in the Show Jumping.