THE Netherlands showjumping team, which has never won a medal at any previous World Championships, gained a resounding victory late last night when they won the gold medal at the World Showjumping Championships by a margin of 7.84 points.
Gerco Schroder on Eurocommerce Berlin, the last to go in the Netherlands team, delivered the clear round that secured the gold ahead of the United States. Germany, the European champions and favourites, had to settle for bronze despite two clear rounds from Ludger Beerbaum on L’Espoir.
Britain, who had hoped to finish in the top five and qualify for the Beijing Olympic Games, dropped one place to eighth despite an heroic effort from Michael Whitaker, on Portofino, who had one time fault in each round. Whitaker, lying fourteenth overnight, is the only Briton to qualify for the first round of the individual contest tomorrow. Nick Skelton had the second-best performance, after his clear round on Russel on Wednesday, with a five-fault round.