Germany Wins Olympic Eventing Gold; Miles Takes Individual Silver

America's Gina Miles provides a silver lining to the U.S. by earning individual silver in the Olympic eventing competition. Germany wins gold in team and individual.

By Nancy Jaffer

For complete official results, click here.

Hong Kong, August 12, 2008 -- The persistent cloud that has hung over the U.S. eventing squad at the Olympics turned out literally to have a silver lining tonight, as team member Gina Miles claimed a medal of that metal with McKinlaigh in the individual competition.

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Olympic eventing individual silver medalist Gina Miles on McKinlaigh © 2008 by Nancy Jaffer

German oral surgeon Hinrich Romeike earned the individual gold on Marius after his nation took the team honors, while the bronze went to a member of the third-place British team, Kristina Cook riding Miner's Frolic.

Gina, a bubbly Californian and mother of two who got her start riding backyard horses, moved up from fifth place after cross-country on the Irish-bred McKinlaigh, and stood fourth following the first round of eventing's show jumping phase. She was one of only six competitors to be fault-free in both rounds.

Earning the medal dazzled the understandably emotional Miles.

"To me, it's just a culmination of all the dreams and hard work and the ups and the downs that come along with the sport of horses and life," she said, emphasizing the importance of "staying focused and staying on track and coming back at it for another day."

Her goal for her first appearance in the Olympics was to qualify for the individual final involving the top 25 riders and help her team get a medal. But the latter ambition remained unfulfilled. The U.S. squad, seventh after a disastrous cross-country day, remained there on a whopping 250 penalties following the show jumping before an enthusiastic capacity crowd of 18,000 at the Sha Tin venue.

Germany, which moved into the lead over Australia with a brilliant cross-country effort, refused to yield though the margin of victory was small, 166.1 penalties to 171.2.

Great Britain easily continued to hold its third-place spot from cross-country, with a total of 185.7 to 230.5 for fourth-place Italy.

The USA stood third after dressage, then fizzled. The dismal performance reflected how thin the top ranks of the sport are in this country. Horse injuries and the death of super pony Theodore O'Connor in a stable accident last spring contributed to the unhappy circumstances in which the cobbled-together American squad found itself.

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The Olympic flame shines on Gina Miles and McKinlaigh. © 2008 by Nancy Jaffer

U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF) President David O'Connor, the 2000 individual Olympic eventing medalist, believes it's time for a re-think of the program.

Listen: David O'Connor on the results

The bitter last straw for the U.S. came after the medal ceremonies, when officials weighed the hind boots of team member Phillip Dutton's mount, Connaught. It was found that each was more than 200 grams heavier than the 500 grams allowed under a rule instituted in February by the FEI (international equestrian federation) that was geared to equine welfare.

Phillip, who had finished tied for 12th individually after a fault-free final round, was disqualified, though his 8-penalty trip in the team fray was allowed to stand, at least for the moment. The FEI is still looking into the matter.

Jim Wolf, the USEF's director of sports programs, shouldered the blame for the situation.

"I should have known the rule," he said, explaining it was published on the FEI's website but never came across his desk.

"I think the federation owes Phillip an apology," Jim continued, explaining that no rider wants to have a disqualification on his record.

While geared to Grand Prix show jumping, the regulation also applies to eventing, but no one at the USEF's show jumping department had mentioned anything of that nature, Jim said, and Phillip was completely unaware of it. USEF officials are investigating how this ball got dropped. At the same time, Jim noted that a rule is a rule, and it had to be enforced.

The situation was rich with irony dating back to the 2004 Olympics in Athens, where Germany also won the team and individual gold medals. But France, Britain and the U.S., the teams finishing behind the Germans, protested and got the victory overturned because German rider Bettina Hoy had gone through the start line twice, which is not allowed. While some argued that disqualifying her was quibbling, the allies stuck to their "a rule is a rule" stance. Germany was dropped from the medals, and Bettina lost the gold. The team that won today was the same with the exception of Bettina, whose horse was injured, prompting her replacement with Peter Thomsen.

The individual final was a nail-biter, with the top seven less than one knockdown away from each other. Hinrich toppled a single rail in the first round with his spectacular gray Holsteiner, Marius, lessening the margin he had over his rivals.

Of the knockdown, he said, "It's not his fault, it's my fault. The horse never makes any mistakes."