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Wednesday, September 20
No mistakes gives O'Connor lead
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia -- A once-in-a-lifetime dressage ride put
American David O'Connor in first place after the opening day of the
individual three-day equestrian event Wednesday.
O'Connor, of The Plains, Va., performed a graceful, mistake-free
test on Custom Made to score 29.0. He was part of the U.S. bronze
medal-winning three-day team on Tuesday.
"I've never broken 30 in my life on any horse," O'Connor, 38,
said. "When he floats like that I just sit up there and smile.
It's a partnership."
He was followed by Marina Koehncke of Germany on Longchamps with
34.8 and Heidi Antikatzidis of Greece on Michaelmas with 37.4.
Robert Costello of Southern Pines, N.C., on Chevalier, had 42.4
points for ninth place and was still in the hunt for a medal going
into the cross-country endurance test Thursday (Wednesday night
ET).
"I was hoping for the low 40s, so I'm more than happy,"
Costello said.
O'Connor finished fifth on Custom Made in the individual
three-day event in Atlanta and said he's looking forward to riding
the cross-country course on his second horse of the week.
"We call him Iron Man," said O'Connor. "He's 16 and one of
the toughest horses I've ever had the pleasure to be around."
Costello said the cross-country course should also favor
Chevalier.
"It will suit my horse very well," he said. "You need a good
galloper. If you have to set your horse up before each fence you'll
have time faults."
The third U.S. rider, Julie Black of Newnan, Ga., earned 52.8 on
Hyde Park Corner and is in the middle of the pack of 38 riders. She
said her horse tried to shy throughout the test.
"He's a little bit opinionated," said Black. "I wasn't
nervous. He's a little bit temperamental and takes awhile to get
used to each new atmosphere."
Black said the individual-event riders learned a lot about the
course by watching the team event.
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