Kyle hopes to be ‘there abouts’ in terms of a medal

Like all Olympians, eventer Mark Kyle, has weighed up his and his team’s prospects in terms of probabilities and possibilities.

Regarding, the former he said yesterday: “We would all be bitterly disappointed if we were not in the top four or five.”

As for the latter: “If everything goes our way, we will be there or there abouts in terms of a medal. We have very good combinations and all are very capable. We just need the luck, and hope others are without it, and just maybe...”

Ireland may not have qualified a team directly, but Kyle and his team-mates Michael Ryan (Ballylynch Adventure), Aoife Clark (Master Crusoe), Camilla Speirs (Portersize Just A Jiff) and Joseph Murphy (Electric Cruise) are not without confidence. Those on the sidelines are also daring to dream. Perhaps it is a case of naivety-driven aspiration blinding us to reality, but Kyle thinks an opportunity exists.

“There is a belief in the camp that this is our chance. It is certainly the strongest team we have ever taken to a championships in many years and we feel it is as close as we will ever get to medal. We certainly are not here just for the T-shirts and if we can carry our good results through this week anything is possible.”

There is, though, always the caveat. It is understandable; how many have went to the Olympics eyeing glory, only to find it out of reach? Kyle, alone in the Irish set-up, in having experienced the Games — Athens, 2004 — knows this, but it does not alter his self-belief.

“Of course, anything can go wrong, an injury, a lapse in concentration, but that applies to everybody. On the day, I believe we can be as good as anybody else,” said Dubliner Kyle, who moved to Leicestershire in 1999 when marrying his wife Tanya.

The 37-year-old rides the Ghareeb-sired Coolio, describing it as “laid back as myself”.

“I got him as a seven-year-old and the plan, once he had his first season under his belt, was geared towards the Olympics. He’s only 10 now, though, so it may be a year or two too early for him, but he is a big horse and very good jumper and I don’t think he will be phased by this.”

One area of concern, though, was the weak underbelly that is Irish dressage. Kyle is acknowledged as having made big strides in rectifying this.

“Coolio’s owner Ronnie Bartlett agreed with me that after last year’s European Championships, we needed to focus on dressage, as there was definite room for improvement. Every week over the winter I worked with team coach Ferdie Eilberg. I knew it would pay dividends and it has made a big difference this season, as we are 10 marks consistently better.”

As for individual aspirations?

“I will be hugely disappointed if I am not among the last 25.”

The eventers are in early, with dressage tomorrow and Sunday, followed by cross-country on Monday, with medal time in the show jumping on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Mark is not the only Kyle in action in London, as his younger brother John is one of the seven-strong group of commentators at Greenwich Park.

* Tattesalls Ireland says it was “cautiously optimistic” regarding the funding issue threatening the staging of next year’s international horse trials.

In June, Tattersalls Ireland General Manager Roger Casey said that “in order to commit to staging this event in 2013 we must now seek to establish a sustainable guaranteed funding mechanism”, giving October 1 as the deadline.

While the deadline still stands, Casey this week issued a statement following a meeting with Minister of State for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring.

“We are very grateful to Minister Ring for bringing together the key funding partners for the Tattersalls International Horse Trials in order to discuss the future of the event,” said Casey. “The meeting presented all parties with the opportunity to discuss the financial challenges faced by the event and to clarify in detail the specific level of funding required and the preferred funding timeline that would allow the event to continue in 2013 and beyond. The meeting proved to be a constructive forum and we are very aware of the demands on the limited resources available to Horse Sport Ireland, the Irish Sports Council and our other funding partners Eventing Ireland and Fáilte Ireland. Nevertheless, we sincerely hope that as early as possible prior to October 1 we can find the necessary financial support which will enable us to continue staging the Tattersalls International Horse Trials. At this stage the matter remains unresolved, but we remain cautiously optimistic and look forward to a positive response from Horse Sport Ireland in due course.”