We did it! Canada kept it together when others failed. Team spirit and a collective effort pulled her back from the brink and raised her the only two rungs she needed to climb today. As I wrote yesterday, 12 is just a number two places away from 10.
It was a crazy day at the races, folks. One needed a bank of calculators to keep track of who was where in the rankings. Even our own people feared the worst when Eric crossed the finish line with eight rotten, good-for-nothing penalties. Surely he was our last hope. Turns out Colombia and Israel were having a less favourable day than we were. Turns out the miniscule edge we held overnight on Belgium stood like the Great Wall keeping them out and keeping us in.
I tip my hat to young Kara Chad, who built that wall with her five-penalty effort on the 11-year-old Carona. One point more and Belgium would have scuppered the red and white ship and all who sailed with her. The smart, articulate young lady may be a relative newcomer, but as she told me yesterday, if she could keep a lid on the nerves she had 100% faith in her horse’s ability. “I’m supported from all ends, but for me I think it is just mentally staying in it and keeping focused and not getting too overwhelmed by the whole thing.”