Britain lie in sixth place after the second loop of six in the endurance at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky.
Chef d’equipe Liz Finney said: “At the moment, things are going very well — there’s a long way to go though. We’ve started reasonably steady, but it’s still a fast pace. We’re up from 10th at the first vetgate to sixth and there’s not a lot between any of the teams. Anything can happen though.”
Britain’s team riders are tightly clumped just above the halfway mark of the 100 starters — David Yeoman (Haszar, pictured) is 28th, Ros Clapp (Nazeeka) 33rd, Christine Yeoman (LM Midday) 35th and Beccy Broughton-Booker (Java Sunlight) 38th. Individual rider Sarah Rogerson (FFC First Csea Lord), who was called in from the reserve position at the last-minute, is 55th.
The UAE currently dominate the top of the leader board, with Sheikh Hamdan Mohammed Al Maktoum (SAS Alexis) leading and his brother Sheikh Majid Mohammed Al Maktoum (Kangoo D’Aurabelle) third. Spain’s reigning European and world champion Maria Mercedes Alvarez Ponton (Nobby) is second. The top three riders had only 11sec between them leaving the second vetgate.
In the team standings the UAE lead from the USA, with Bahrain in bronze.
After the second vetgate, riders have covered 72.4 of the 160km in the race.
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