EQUESTRIAN Marie-Louise ‘Bumble’ Thomas was pipped to the position of travelling reserve for the British Olympic equestrian team by Mary King.
‘Unfortunately I wasn’t picked this time,’ said the former JCG schoolgirl from her home in the UK.
‘It couldn’t have been closer, but Mary got the nod.
I was very disappointed - and it’s worse now that Sarah Cutteridge’s horse is injured and Mary will be riding in the competition,’ she added.
King, who finished fifth at the 2003 European Championships with her horse Solomon and fourth at Badminton - behind Thomas and her horse The Psephologist, or Branston as he is nicknamed - and has previous Olympic experience.
She rode Star Apeal at the 2000 Sydney Games.
Despite her disappointment, Thomas said that she had gained a tremendous amount of valuable experience in training with the squad for the last few months.
‘It’s a shame the Olympics are only once in four years.
Getting the right horse at the right time is important, and it is hard to get all the necessary factors in place for exactly the right time, just once in four years! But I’ll keep trying.
Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to competing at Burghley in a couple of weeks.’
Article posted on 13th August, 2004 - 12.00am
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