Terceira eliminated by one point
By Stephen Wright in LondonJill Terceira remained upbeat despite missing the cut by one point for the third qualifier of the individual jumping at London 2012.Riding in wet conditions, Terceira collected eight faults on her horse Bernadien van Westuur, knocking down two rails in the second qualifier in Greenwich Park, London.The Bermudian, who jumped clear with just one time fault in first round on Saturday, finished tied in 47th position.“Unfortunately I just missed the cut. I'm disappointed because it was so close,” she said. “I did everything I could have done and I felt I rode well both days.”Terceira, who was also eliminated at the second stage of qualifying in Beijing four years ago, was left ruing the time fault she picked up in the first qualifier which ultimately scuppered her chances of advancing.“I definitely had a better horse this time and had a lot of confidence going into the Olympics,” said Terceira, who was one of 60 jumpers out of 75 who reached the second stage.“I really hoped I would have qualified. If I'd had one less penalty I would have tied for 31st position and gone through.“I really missed the cut because of the one time fault that I picked up in the first round qualifier.”Terceira believed the heavy downpour yesterday played a part in her agonising elimination.“I rode well despite the difficult conditions. The torrential rain affects the horse's footing and your equipment – my reins kept slipping out of my hands."Despite her disappointment, Terceira said she had relished her Olympic experience and hoped to be around for Rio 2016.“It's been a wonderful Olympics. The city had been buzzing, the Village had been buzzing and I've had a great time. It's been a great experience.“Riders can compete beyond our years because the horse is the most important athlete in the partnership.“I'm definitely looking forward to competing in more big events like the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games in the future."Paul Pereech, Ched d'equipe, said the competition was particularly strong and that Terceira should be proud of her performance."Today's course was large, colorful and a light drizzle at the time and Jillian and Bernadien maneuvered the 13 obstacles well but had two rails down," he said."Unfortunately, the eight faults from today combined with the one from yesterday has put Jillian in 47th position with only the top 45 going through to the third individual qualifier."Competition was strong over the two days with just one rail down separating the 27th to 47th position."