Hong Kong Olympian Thomas Heffernan Ho swears dutifully by his loyal partner Tayberry – and so does Horse & Hound (H&H) , the United Kingdom’s leading equestrian magazine. The 20-year-old Tayberry is the oldest horse in the Tokyo Olympics eventing competition and on Sunday completed a clean run in the cross-country leg in Ho’s Games debut, clearing all fences on the six-kilometre course. On Friday, H&H featured Tayberry as horse of the day after the opening dressage section of the eventing competition, praising the 15.3 hands gelding for “still going strong at the grand old age of 20”. Ho and Tayberry incurred no jumping penalties on the cross-country course – a feat achieved by only half the field – but because they went at a slower pace they picked up 55.6 time penalty points for a total of 102.30 and 46th place overall. H&H’s Tokyo horse of the day: Tayberry, the 15.1hh 20-year-old who is still going strong https://t.co/RfgPk8Kt87 pic.twitter.com/5Tu9FQJW1H — Horse & Hound (@horseandhound) July 30, 2021 “Tayberry just felt amazing, he was such a star,” said Ho, 32. “To get a clear round at my first Olympic Games, given the course caused so many challenges, is a dream come true.” China’s Alex Hua Tian and Don Geniro are in 18th place after the cross-country, picking up 12 penalty points (no jumping penalties) for a 35.90 total. Hua Tian was third after the dressage but some flawless performances for the leading riders pushed him down the field. Great Britain’s Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class lead on 23.60 points after a perfect cross-country leg with Germany’s Julia Krajewski, aboard Amande De B’Neville, second on 25.60 and British combination Laura Collett and London 52 third on 25.80. Amanda Bond, the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s head of equestrian affairs, said she was proud of Ho and Tayberry, who is owned by Irene Ho and Miranda Rauis and has been with the Hong Kong rider since 2015. “Taking a 20-year-old horse to the Games was a gamble, but Tom has such a strong partnership with him and we knew our support team would take great care of him,” said Bond. “That strong bond that they have shone through on the cross-country, which is why they were able to do so well. Tom went a little slower to make sure they both got home safe and sound. He rode it perfectly.” Ho is the first rider from Hong Kong to qualify for eventing in the Olympics. The competition ends on Monday with the jumping leg. Only 48 riders remain from the original 63-strong field. In the team competition, Great Britain lead on 78.30 points ahead of Australia (96.20) and France (97.10). The China team of Hua Tian, Bao Yingfeng and Sun Huadong are ninth overall on 185.60 points. Bao is 38th in the individual competition, on 72.50 points, with Sun 40th on 77.20. “I was proud of Don because this week was always going to be seriously challenging for him,” said Hua Tian. “The heat was always gong to favour the endurance athlete in the horses and Don is not an endurance athlete, he’s strong in dressage. In goes @AlexHuaTian & Don Geniro His 3rd @Olympics but his first with a Chinese Eventing Team From #Beijing2008 as the first ever Chinese eventers to #Tokyo2020 & qualifying a team. That’s some growth for Chinese Equestrian #EquestrianEventing pic.twitter.com/IvLYoDWQMt — The FEI (@FEI_Global) July 30, 2021 “Obviously after being in such a good position yesterday, I was hoping that he’d last the distance but I knew in the back of my head and certainly in my heart that he probably wouldn’t. “I’m very proud of my teammates and also proud of Tom. It was a challenge for him and Tayberry, who is the oldest horse here, and to finish the course was a serious achievement for both my teammates and Tom.”