Equestrian not dwelling on Olympic medal

Equestrian not dwelling on Olympic medal  GENEVA - Swiss showjumper Steve Guerdat isn't dwelling on the Olympic medal he may soon be awarded as part of a doping ruling. Guerdat, who defends his World Cup lead Sunday in the Grand Prix event at the Geneva International Horse Show, finished fourth in team jumping at the Beijing Games. His teammates were Christina Liebherr, Pius Schwizer and Niklaus Schurtenberger. But Norway could be stripped of its bronze medals in a doping case pending against star rider Tony Andre Hansen.

"I was thinking about the medal maybe until the day that I got home from Hong Kong, which was three days after the final," Guerdat told The Associated Press this week. "Since that day it has been completely far away from my mind. It's gone."

Hansen's horse, Camiro, tested positive for a banned medication and he has twice appeared before tribunals at the International Equestrian Federation in Lausanne, Switzerland. A verdict from the sport's governing body is overdue since a Nov. 8 hearing.

"A lot of things have been happening since (the Olympics) which are very beautiful," said Guerdat, who rose to No. 10 in the rider rankings this month after starting the year No. 28. "I went into the year knowing I had a good team of horses and they were slowly getting there."

Jalisca Solier is the undoubted star of Guerdat's stable of five competition horses.

"She is a very strong character and a fighter," he said. "She maybe does not have all the natural ability of other horses but through her mind she is better."

The 11-year-old mare was bought for Guerdat in 2006 by his patron, Yves Piaget from the Swiss watch-making family.

"We are like best friends. I owe him so much there are no words to explain," Guerdat said. "He is very pleased with the way things are going."

Piaget stepped in after the Swiss protege split from his previous backer Alexander Onyschenko, a Ukrainian businessman who wanted to claim Guerdat for his country.

"The problem there was to change my nationality which I would not do," he said. "Every time I ride for the Swiss flag it is special."

Geneva is the fifth of 13 events on the European circuit, which feeds into the World Cup final in Las Vegas. Guerdat finished third there two seasons ago, on Tresor, and hopes to return in April.

He might even arrive with an Olympic medal to go with his growing reputation.
 
Original Report By: Graham Dunbar, Associated Press Writer USA Today

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