New Zealand's Andrew Nicholson sent out a London 2012 warning at Gatcombe Park by winning the British Open.
New Zealander shines with a rare 1-2 in the British Open
New Zealand's Andrew Nicholson sent out a London 2012 warning to Great Britain's highly-fancied eventers at Gatcombe Park on Sunday.
Nicholson coasted to victory in the Festival of British Eventing's British Open, winning with Nereo and also finishing second aboard Avebury.
It was the 50-year-old's first British Open title since 2002, but the Kiwis did not stop there as Jonathan Paget took third on Clifton Lush and current Badminton champion Mark Todd fourth with Major Milestone.
Pippa Funnell and Mirage D'Elle were the top British combination in sixth, collecting the national title as a result, but they were more than six penalties behind Nicholson, who jumped two of six clear cross-country rounds inside the time.
Easy
"Nereo is very fast," said Nicholson, who posted only the third British Open one-two after Mary King in 1996 and William Fox-Pitt seven years later.
"It feels very easy for him. It feels like he knows the jumps before he has even seen them."
Meanwhile, former world and European champion Zara Phillips formally retired her title-winning horse Toytown at Gatcombe on Sunday.
She said: "He was the horse of a lifetime for me. We grew up together, we went through the levels together, and it all just seemed to go our way.
"The Worlds were amazing because we managed to back up what we did at the Europeans on a much bigger stage. It was an amazing feeling."
