Whitaker has to change horses

Michael Whitaker has been forced to abandon the idea of riding Handel II in this month's European Show Jumping Championships at Arnhem. The stallion, with whom he was third in the World Cup final in April, was found to have breathing problems after a disappointing performance on Sunday in the Cannes Grand Prix where he had three fences down before being retired. Handel will undergo a tieback operation to enlarge the laryngeal opening before he competes again.

Whitaker will be riding two other horses, Virtual Village Prince of Wales and Ashley, in the Aachen Nations Cup meeting, which begins in Germany today. Prince of Wales, his mount at the Sydney Olympics, now looks to be his main hope for the championship team that will be named on Monday.

John Whitaker, Michael's elder brother, also had a discouraging weekend, with Virtual Village Calvaro collecting 30 faults in the first round of the Nations Cup at the Pavarotti International Horse Show in Modena. The huge stallion had seemed far from resolute as he drifted to the left going into the treble, where he jumped the first element. Having lost his impulsion it was impossible for him to jump the second part, so Whitaker had to turn him back ­ thus incurring hefty time penalties.

Whitaker's main aim in Sunday's Grand Prix was to get Calvaro going forward with more sense of purpose. Having achieved this, he was not disheartened by his 12-fault score. "I'm not too worried about him, he can come out and be good again," he said.

Last year the British team surprised everybody (themselves included) by winning the Nations Cup in Aachen, where the annual meeting is the most competitive in the world. This year the two Whitaker brothers (who were part of the winning 2000 quartet) are joined in the squad by Mark Armstrong, Tim Stockdale and William Funnell. Morale would be boosted with a repeat victory but their principal aim is to impress the selectors. Di Lampard, who misses Aachen, is the only one who can relax this week. She jumped clear rounds on Abbervail Dream in both the Nations Cups she has contested this year, so she can start preparing for her trip to Arnhem.