Equestrianism: Skilful Tait defies storms to take lead on Ironic

Blyth tait's expertise was much in evidence yesterday, when the New Zealand world and Olympic champion took over the lead in the Copper Horse Section of the Arena Leisure Windsor International Horse Trials during a blustery morning session in which several riders had their top hats blown off in the arena. As they go into today's cross-country, Tait and Ronnie Bartlett's Ironic hold a 4.8pt advantage over the Frenchman Franck Bourny who had the best score on Thursday with Belmont On The Road.

Though his test looked to be in a different class than most of his opponents, Tait felt his riding had been a little too conservative on ground that had been made slippery by heavy rain. "If I had another chance, I'd probably be a bit braver," he said.

The threatened storm clouds arrived with a vengeance in the afternoon, which will not have helped the cross-country going that had been considered perfect on Thursday. According to Tait, the course has been "beefed up since last year", but this should not be a problem for Ironic who jumped clear over an advanced track at Bicton earlier this month.

Ironic is likely to be sold this year as Tait, who is buying a farm in New Zealand, is reducing his string in this country to four or five horses. The 41-year-old Kiwi intends to spend six months of the year (October to March) in New Zealand and the rest of the time in England. After the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, he will probably move home permanently.