Equestrianism: Brakewell sets the British tone

Britain will be eighth of the 13 three-day event teams when the two days of dressage get under way at the World Equestrian Games this morning. As usual, Jeanette Brakewell will lead the way and she will be followed by Leslie Law, the dual European champion Pippa Funnell and William-Fox Pitt.

Riders walked the cross-country course, designed by Britain's Mike Tucker at the military stud at Garrapilos, for the first time yesterday. "Mike's done a brilliant job," was the verdict of Funnell. "It's a real thinking course and very different from any others that I've ridden."

In particular, the two water complexes were making riders think hard. According to the Great Britain chef d'equipe, Yogi Breisner, "the direct route at both waters could be very chancy." Yet he believes that the British have found a less risky alternative at the second water that will not lose them any time.

The threat of three-day eventing being excluded from the Olympic Games in 2008 is naturally one of the main talking points in Jerez. Dona Pilar de Bourbon, President of the International Equestrian Federation, pointed out that "this is not yet a decision, it is only a recommendation". She cited the cost of building cross-country courses as the main problem.

"The cost of the eventing course here is scandalous, I repeat scandalous," the Spanish princess said of the track at Garrapilos, which comes with a £2m price tag. "People must realise that costs cannot escalate just to make everything perfect," she added.

Although no names were mentioned, Tucker was stung by the implied criticism. "I think it is totally unreasonable for her to say this now," he said of Dona Pilar's comments. "I don't know the total cost of the eventing course as I haven't been in charge for the last month. One thing that has happened since then is that they painted the whole of the army stables to make them look nice."

Britain's dressage riders had a disappointing start yesterday. Peter Storr's mount Gambrinus was unlevel – maybe as a result of knocking himself in his stable – and scored 63.04 per cent, well below his best. Emile Faurie had an even more uncomfortable ride on Insterburg, scoring just 63.20 per cent.