Lyndal Oatley Confident of Sandro Boy Recovery for Australian Olympic Selection Event in Rotterdam
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May 19, 2016
By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
Lyndal Oatley is confident that Sandro Boy will be fully recovered and ready to compete at Rotterdam in a month in pursuit of the second Olympics for the pair that have been Australia’s top combination for the past four years.
Lyndal, 35 years old who is based in Nottuln, Germany with her Swedish Olympic team rider husband Patrik Kittel, missed the first of two selection events in Europe when Sandro Boy, 15-year-old Oldenburg gelding, was not fit to compete.
“Was simply a case of bad timing and we move forward and focus on Rotterdam and doing what I know we are capable of,” Lyndal told dressage-news.com.
“We have made a lot of improvements in training these past weeks and I am now happy after these past few days of diagnosis that with some simple changes we will be able to move forward quite quickly and be ready for Rotterdam.”
Lyndal and Sandro Boy, on the Australian team at the 2012 Olympics in London and the 2014 World Games in Normandy, have averaged 71.474 per cent in three Grand Prix in the past six months, the best record of any of the eight combinations competing in the European events for the four places on the Australian team for Rio de Janeiro in August.
However, under the selection criteria the pair will be starting the deciding event in Rotterdam with a score of 66.066 per cent, the average of the three lowest Grand Prix scores from the first event in Odense, Denmark that they missed.
Kristy Oatley, her 37-year-old cousin based in Hamburg, Germany and her Du Soleil, a 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding, are atop the standings after Odense with 69.520. Kristy competed for Australia at the Olympics in Sydney in 2000, Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012 as well as the 1998, 2006 and 2014 World Games. Kristy’s final ninth place on Wall Street at the Sydney Games was the best ever Olympic result by an Australian.
Suzanne Hearn, 60 years old from Bowral, about an hour southwest of Sydney, and Remmington, 14-year-old Australian gelding and seeking to go to her first Olympics, is in second place on 68.820. The pair have never competed outside Australia though Suzanne competed Manhattan, half-brother to Remington, in Britain when training with Kyra Kyrklund 15 years ago.
Kelly Layne is the first Australian based in the United States–in Wellington, Florida–to make the Olympic long list. She moved across the Atlantic 10 years ago with her husband, Steve, a former U.S. Air Force F-15 fighter pilot. Kelly, 41 years old, is ranked third on Udon P, a 15-year-old KWPN gelding, on 67.880. Kelly competed at the 2006 World Games in Aachen, Germany.
Mary Hanna, at 61 years of age and based at Bellarine, Australia has competed at more Olympics than any other Australian dressage rider, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and London 2012. On Boogie Woogie, a 10-year-old KWPN gelding, she has a score of 67.54o, On Umbro, a 15-year-old KWPN gelding, she is on 66.920.
Maree Tomkinson, 47, of Wallan, Australia and Diamantina 4, a 14-year=old Oldenburg mare she competed at the 2014 World Games in Normandy, is on 66.100.
Brett Parbery, 44 of Penrose, Australia and DP Weltmieser, a 13-year-old Australian Warmblood gelding, is on 65.180. Brett and Victory Salute competed at the World Games in Kentucky in 2010.
The CDIO5* Nations Cup and CDI3* at Rotterdam is set for June 22-26.
