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Phoenix rises to the occasion
So to our great pride, Uxbridge native Jessica Phoenix not only lived up to her billing as the premier rider in the five-member Canadian eventing team at the London Olympics (based on her gold medal in last year’s Pan Am games in Guadalajara), but for the last phase of the competition, Tuesday’s show jumping, she was the team (see our story on page 7).
It was hard to watch the cross-country phase Monday morning as rider after rider (15 in all, including three Canadians) came to grief on Greenwhich Park’s twisty, slippery course. But almost every one was eliminated on a different obstacle, so one suspects it was inadequate preparation rather than poor design. And contrary to the designer’s prediction that only a couple of the 74 riders would reach the end of the cross-country unscathed, fully nine of them emerged penalty-free, and we’re convinced that Jessica would have joined them were it not for a 17-minute hold that ruined the momentum of her ride (she ultimately wound up three seconds over the target time, for 2.4 penalty points).
It would be tempting to call the cross-country the highlight of Jessica’s Olympic performance. On the scoresheet it certainly was - she amassed 54.8 penalties in dressage and 22 in jumping - and Jessica called the thrilling ride on Exponential “awesome”. The on-air commentator called her a “little spitfire”, and she certainly tackled the course with no fear whatsoever.
But when she and Exponential rode out into the show arena on Tuesday, in front of much of the royal family and millions of other horse fans around the world, knowing that she alone would be representing her country, it must have been a feeling like no other, one that she’ll remember for the rest of her life, no matter how many other competitions she takes part in, no matter how many medals she wins.
One thing we must ask Jessica when she gets home is whether the judges in the dressage phase of eventing are always this tough. Nine riders in the cross-country came away with no penalties, even more in the show jumping, but the top rider after the dressage (a Japanese rider later eliminated in the cross-country) had a whopping 38 penalties. Jessica had 54.8, more than two-thirds her eventual total in the whole competition. William Jung of Germany, the eventual individual gold medalist, was given 40 points in dressage, then none - none! - the rest of the way, riding clean and on time through the cross-country and two rounds of jumping. Considering the penalty points in the three phases are given equal weight, it seems a bit unbalanced.
A final question needs to be asked: is 22nd place at the Olympics something to be proud of? The answer is an exultant yes. Jessica came into the Games ranked 85th in the world in eventing. Her gold at the Pan Am games came with none of the elite European or Down-Under riders in the field; in fact, only a solitary Western Hemisphere rider, one from the U.S., placed above her in London. Although a podium finish was a wild dream for her supporters, we’re sure Jessica had different goals: to lead her team and make her country, and home town, proud. Well, Jessica, those goals have been accomplished in spades. You and Exponential took a whole country on your backs. It was a fabulous ride.
July 14, 2011
