The French team of Virginie Atger, Philippe Benoit and Pascale Dietsche finished the 100-mile, hilly endurance ride through the German/Dutch/Belgian border area in a combined time of 28:11:27, ahead of the Swiss team (Urs Wenger, Anna Lena Wagner and Nora Wagner), which finished in 29:57:1. Portugal (Joao Raposo, Ana Margarita Costa and Ana Teresa Barbas) earned the bronze medal in a time of 30:38:32.
The team from the United Arab Emirates were expected to be in strong contention for the gold medal, but all four riders, composed entirely of sons of the reigning Sheik, were eliminated, two at the second and third vet gates and the other two, who had been in the lead, at the fifth vet check.
The U.S. team also could not finish when two members were eliminated near the end of the race for lameness. First, Joe Mattingly and SA Laribou were eliminated at gate 4, then Christoph Schork was eliminated with Taj Rai Hassan, somewhat controversially, at gate 5. The team would not have been in the medals anyway and chose not to appeal the decision of the vets.
“It was so cold at the checks, so to stand still and go back out [and not be stiff] was hard,” U.S. chef d’equipe Valerie Kanavy said. “[Taj Rai Hassan] did have some muscle fatigue, but that’s expected at 92 miles.”
Three U.S. riders did finish. Kathryn Downs was the best, in 15th place (10:06:27). Meg Sleeper (who rode as an individual) was 22nd (10:12:22), and Jennifer Lyn Niehaus was 49th (11:57:26). “My goal was to finish all the riders,” said Kanavy. “So I am disappointed.”
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Kanavy, herself a two-time World Champion, believes that the results prove the team needs to advance on several fronts. “I’m a competitor, so over and over I toss in my mind how we could do better in the future,” she said. “We have to really become more scientific in our training. This was a natural game of a recreational sport 10 years ago, but now it’s changed. It’s really a 100-mile racecourse.
“We have to become more professional in our training, in terms of exact electrolytes, supplementation and vitamins,” she added. “Many other countries have a staff and trainers full-time. I’ve seen their offices and computer graphs. We still do a lot by guess and gosh and feel.”
Kanavy said she couldn’t believe other nations train that much better than the U.S. riders or have better horses. But, on the bright side, she was pleased with the way the team rode. “They really followed orders and rode smart,” she said. “I’m proud of that. There was real cohesiveness in this team.”
In total, 65 riders completed and 94 were eliminated, retired or disqualified, and riders from 42 nations competed.
