August 15, 2004 – Athens, Greece – The equestrian discipline of Eventing opened its Olympic Games competition on Sunday, August 15, in Athens, Greece, with Toronto’s Mike Winter putting in the top Canadian performance.

Riding Balista, Winter earned a score of 63.20 penalty points to move into 22nd in the standings following the first of two days of dressage competition. Winter, 29, is immediately followed by teammate Garry Roque of Caledon East, ON, who is in 23rd position riding Waikura after earning a score of 63.40 penalty points. Also competing for Canada was Ian Roberts, 45, of Port Perry, ON, who earned a score of 70.60 penalty points for 32nd position riding Mata-riki.

Of the 75 athletes contesting in the Eventing portion of the 2004 Olympic Games, 37 competed on Sunday amid windy conditions with the remaining, including Canada’s Hawley Bennett, 27, of Langley, BC, and Bruce Mandeville, 44, of Summerland, BC, performing their dressage tests on Monday, August 16. On Tuesday, August 17, all 75 competitors will face the challenging cross-country portion while the third and final phase of Eventing competition, show jumping, will take place on Wednesday, August 18, when the Team medals will be awarded using the three best scores of the five-member teams. A second show jumping round will follow on Wednesday, August 18, to determine the Individual Medals.

Currently in the lead is Germany’s Bettina Hoy who received a score of 32 penalty points riding Ringwood Cockatoo. Heelan Tompkins of New Zealand is second with a score of 44 penalty points riding the 18-year-old Glengarrick, the oldest horse in the Eventing competition, followed by Hinrich Romeike of Germany riding Marius. Darren Chiacchia of the United States is currently fourth with a score of 44.60 riding Windfall 2 while Olivia Bunn, representing the defending champions, Australia, is fifth riding Top Of The Line.

The Canadian Eventing Team is competing with the help of International Technical Advisor Jimmy Wofford, Dressage Coach Jane Savoie and Team Manager Greg Paull in addition to numerous other support personnel.