British riders a smart bunch

The British riders have outsmarted their opponents

Britain's equestrian teams are having a mixed time of it in Sydney, with a team silver in the three-day event the best result to date. But, as the show-jumping heads towards its conclusion, the BBC's Lee McKenzie reflects on another, but equally important, aspect of the squad's Olympic challenge.

Over the years, Britain's Olympic equestrian teams have done reasonably well, particularly the eventers, who have won two team golds and three team silvers since 1968.

But this year's squad has beaten all the others hands down in one respect - the team uniform.

Before the squad left for Australia, team manager Matt Straker was keen to stress that the Great Britain representatives would have a new, integrated, look - with the riders all wearing colours based upon a red, white and blue theme.

Stunning

The result has been stunning - whatever their results, they deserve a medal alone for being one of the smartest teams competing at Horsley Park.

In all the disciplines, the British competitors have looked the bee's knees in their striking team kit, enabling them to do away with the more traditional black jackets in the dressage tests and the "hunting pink" normally associated with the show-jumping arena.

In the past, some critics have accused the British Olympic equestrian squads of not being professional enough in their approach to the Games.

Whether or not that is the case, the same cannot be said of this year's riding party.

The eventers, though disappointed at first, will look back and say that a silver medal was a significant improvement on the previous two Olympic performances.

Downhearted

The dressage team may be rather downhearted that they did not do a bit better than eighth of nine competing countries, but they tried as hard as they could.

And the show-jumpers - who knows?

Win or lose, medal or no medal, one thing is certain - they will be the epitome of sartorial elegance in their deep blue jackets with red and white trimming as the competition moves towards its climax.