Top rider’s Athens hopes dashed

William Funnell, a contender for one of Britain’s two individual Olympic show jumping places, has been forced to withdraw from the short-list because his top horse, the 2001 Horse & Hound Foxhunter champion, Cortaflex Mondriaan, has cracked a splint bone.

“He couldn’t possibly come right in time for the four Super League Nations Cups [the final Olympic trials], so I’ve had to pull out,” says a bitterly disappointed William.

Team manager Derek Ricketts says: “This is a major blow and a shock for both William and Britain; his horse has plenty of ability.”

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