From YOG News Room

Singapore Turf Club, Wednesday, August 18, 2010 — Caroline Chew gave the home crowd something to cheer about in the first round of the equestrian team competition, with a solid performance at the Singapore Turf Club.

Caroline incurred only four penalty points in her round on Wednesday, and she will play a key role in the Asian team’s chances of a medal when the competition concludes on Friday.

Caroline faced extra pressure to perform on her home course, after the elimination of her teammate Timur Patarov of Kazakshtan, who fell at the eighth jump.

“I’m happy with the performance. It’s good for a first round,” Caroline said.

The stands erupted with support, when Caroline rode Gatineau into the arena.

But despite the noise, the pair kept their focus and executed a near flawless performance, knocking over just one of the 12 obstacles — the culprit jump.

Chew said the culprit jump looked intimidating and she pushed Gatineau too much at the approach.

The Asian team are eight penalty points out of medal contention, but Chew said the competition is still wide open.

“It’s still too early to tell,” she said. “It will be a test of all of the horses fitness as the competition wears on.”

With that in mind, Caroline intends to take it easy on Gatineau during practice with three more days of competition ahead.

The athletes will have a training session with their horses on Thursday, before the second round of the team event commences on Friday.

The individual competition will wrap up proceedings at the Singapore Turf Club on Sunday and Tuesday.