A TEMPERAMENTAL horse ruined Plymouth pentathlete Myles Pillage’s hopes of a top 10 relay finish at the UIPM World Championships in Cairo.
Pillage and his Great Britain partner Bradley Sutton ended up coming 15th in the men’s relay event, but it could have been so much better had it not been for the ride discipline.
The teenage duo were having an impressive day in Egypt. They led after swimming, with a time of 1:48.62, which was a second faster than any other team.
The young Brits then more than held their own in the fencing hall, recording 17 victories and 15 defeats in the ranking round.
A further victory followed in the bonus round meaning Sutton and Pillage finished seventh in the discipline standings and sixth overall.
However, as is so often the case in modern pentathlon, one small thing can turn a day on its head and it turned out to be an unfortunate draw in the ride that would be Pillage and Sutton’s downfall.
On a horse that had already caused difficulty in its first round, Pillage enjoyed a good warm-up with no issues. But once he entered the arena it was a different story, with the horse refusing to leave the handover area once Sutton had completed his round, despite the best efforts of both boys.
It meant that the British duo were timed out and as a result did not pick up any points from the discipline, seeing them drop to 15th in the overall standings and ended their chances of a top 10 finish.
The concluding laser run saw former Plymouth College pupil Pillage and former Hartpury College student Sutton both perform well with Sutton’s shooting particularly impressive as they maintained their 15th place at the competition’s close.
Despite the disappointment in the riding arena, it was still a positive day for junior athletes Sutton and Pillage, who gained invaluable competition experience at the highest level.