Equestrian rider Patrick Lam turns corner at National Games to lead the eventing after dressage
The individual jumping champion from the 2009 Games overcomes a poor performance in the team showjumping
Equestrian rider Patrick Lam Lap-shun salvaged his poor National Games campaign by finishing top of the eventing list after the dressage competition at Tianjin Metropolitan Polo Club on Tuesday, with cross country and showjumping still to come.
Lam, the individual jumping champion at the 2009 Games, was surprisingly eliminated in the opening round of the team showjumping when his horse twice refused to jump as Hong Kong finished in last place out of nine teams.
But there was no repeat of that hard luck as Lam finished his routine with 46.2 penalty points, the best among all 31 riders from eight teams.
“Both our riders and horses are in very good form and I hope they can stay in the lead until the end,” team manager Angela Kong Ka-fung said. “Guangdong and Tibet are traditionally strong teams in cross-country but we are also very competitive. We just keep our fingers crossed.”
Other Hong Kong riders also made a convincing start, with Thomas Ho getting 49.7 penalty points, followed by Nicole Pearson’s 50.7.
Annie Ho Yuen-yan received 51.3 and after calculating the best three scores, Hong Kong also led in the team rankings with 146.6 penalty points, followed by Jiangsu’s 150.1.