Australia's hopes of an equestrian medal faded when Edwina Tops-Alexander's mount hit two rails in the second round of the individual show jumping final.
A disappointed Tops-Alexander said her horse Itot du Charteau was tired and suggested that more rest days needed to be inserted into future Olympic programs.
The effort of competing over massive jumps told against the talented Itot, who at a touch over 15 hands (about 1.5m) is much smaller than most elite show jumpers and less than the height of the jumps he clears.
And at 16, Itot is one of the older horses in a field where the best usually fall in a band between 10 and 15 years old.
"I was really upset after the first round," Tops-Alexander said after taking the little chestnut gelding back to the stables and talking with her team, including the horse's part owners.
"I seemed to be waiting too long there and he got a little bit cold.
"It took me too long to get him going in the ring.
"He was just a little flat, not too many mistakes. He just felt a little more empty in the second round."
Tops-Alexander said the event had been spread out more at the Beijing Games four years earlier.
"We had two days off the final and here we jumped four days, a day off, then two more rounds," she said, adding that it was hard to keep older horses in peak condition with only one day rest between events.
"It was tough...he’s one of the oldest ones here. That’s probably where Nick (Skelton, of Great Britain) had an advantage with a much younger horse. So on that side a little of a disadvantage for me that it wasn’t spread out more."
Switzerland's Steve Guerdat won gold on Nino de Buissonnets from Dutch rider Gerco Schroder on London, while bronze went to popular Irish rider Cian OConnor on Blue Lloyd.
Source: www.heraldsun.com.au