Julie Brougham may have just missed a place in the final round of the dressage competition.
The dressage is a two-day competition and there is a myriad of qualifying caveats – whether riders are in a team or individuals, whether they are in the top eight, whether their team has qualified. But the way things looked after today’s first day of dressage, Broughton looked slightly off the pace.
Brougham, at 62 the oldest member of New Zealand’s Olympic team, put together a polished round on Vom Feinstein and there was some surprise when she was awarded only 68.543.
“I was very pleased with how the round went,” the Manawatu rider said. “There was one little mistake, but otherwise it was a clear round and his extended trots were really lovely. The quality of his work was very, very good.
“I thought I might have been pushing a 70 and was a little disappointed with my score.
“I received a lot of congratulations afterwards from other riders and the New Zealand eventing team, who were out supporting me, thought it had been a very good round.”
Brougham said she was in a difficult position in the dressage because she was not a major international name and was not in a team.
“There is a certain amount of subjectivity in the scoring. The better known a rider is, the more likely the mark will be higher.”
Her score was the best recorded by a New Zealand dressage rider at an Olympic Games.