Olympic warhorse Andrew Hoy more than proved his legendary status with a masterful display of riding after a fall by a Japanese rider put a nightmarish "hold on course" during the second phase of eventing action at Tokyo 2020 on Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It meant Hoy was stopped mid-gallop at the beginning of the gruelling cross-country and had to wait for the course to be reset before he could continue.
After Hoy's gutsy ride, Australia's eventers moved into the silver medal position ahead of the decisive show jumping phase on Monday night.
Commentator Lucinda Green described the halt to Hoy's cross-country run as less than ideal during the live streaming and said it was a "big ask" to get a horse going again.
Hoy, 62 was allowed to dismount during the pause to proceedings while his support crew sponged down the French-bred Vassily de Lassos under the shade of a marquee as the heat and humidity continued to rise under a baking Toyko sun.
"It's not often this happens," Green commented.
"It's not ideal in any way right at the beginning .... and when the horse is just getting in the mindset."
ALSO IN SPORT:
Because Hoy's horse was being washed down and his rider had dismounted, the horse could be forgiven for thinking he'd finished, according to Green.
"It's a very confusing thing for the animal," she said.
But when Culcairn-bred Hoy, an eight-time Olympic veteran, re-mounted, gathered the reins and set off in a spanking gallop on the willing chestnut gelding, it was clear he meant business.
Green suggested Hoy could be "riding on feel" as he may not have had time to calibrate his stopwatch before the hold on course.
"The stopwatch could be as good as useless ... and he'll be doing his math all the way around," she said as the pair ate up the ground on the course.
Hoy tackled the short cuts and cruised home clear and 10 seconds under time.
History was made on Saturday when Hoy became the first Australian to compete at eight Olympic Games and rode Vassily de Lassos to an impressive score of 29.60 in the dressage.
His team-mates Shane Rose (on Virgil) and Kevin McNab (Don Quidam) also went clear cross-country with Rose and Hoy among only a handful of combinations to finish clear and under time.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark https://www.bordermail.com.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @bordermail
- Follow us on Instagram @bordermail
- Follow us on Google News