Jesse Campbell and Jonelle Price got the New Zealand team off to a solid start when the equestrian three-day eventing got under way today.
Price was in the first of three dressage sessions that are spread over two days, and, riding Grovine de Reve, she scored 30.70 points and was placed 8th of the 21 riders in her session.
Campbell was next up for New Zealand in the evening session and he went slightly better aboard Diachello, scoring 30.10.
By the end of the first day, Campbell was in 11th place and Price 13th.
The third member of the evening team, Price’s husband, Tim, will be aboard Vitali in the final session tomorrow.
British rider Oliver Townsend came out ahead on the first day. Riding Ballaghmore Class he scored 23.60.
Jonelle Price, 40, is extremely well performed. She has won Badminton and finished third at Burghley More pertinent to the Olympics, she won a bronze medal with the New Zealand team in London in 2012 and was in the team that finished fourth in Rio in 2016. Two children later, she is a key member of the current lineup.
She said after her round that Grovine de Reve was not the fanciest horse in the dressage phase.
“For him to be scoring any higher he would need to a 120 percent clear round. It was close to that today. There were just two or three little things, but every tiny detail would have to be perfect for him to score better. He doesn’t have a lot of high marks in him, so we just have to be really consistent across the board.”