updated 4:10 p.m. ET Aug. 27, 2004

ATHENS, Greece - American rider Chris Kappler won bronze in show jumping Friday, relieved not just to win a medal but to learn his horse — which broke down on the course in a timed jumpoff — was not seriously hurt.

Kappler’s horse, Royal Kaliber, was taken from the Olympic arena in a trailer and examined at the onsite veterinarian clinic. Officials later said the horse, which suffered an injury to a front leg tendon, would be fine.

Ireland’s Cian O’Connor had a rail down in the first round with Waterford Crystal and was one of only two riders to jump clean in the second to win the gold.

Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa won silver by default after Kappler pulled up. He had eight faults in the first round and jumped clean in the second.

“I felt very close to a silver because he was jumping great,” said Kappler of Pittstown, N.J., who was somber on the medals stand while awaiting word on his mount.

“Then he seemed to land and take a funny step. He took another funny step after the next jump and I knew I had to pull up,” Kappler said.

Royal Kaliber had recovered successfully from a hind-leg injury earlier in the year.

The individual show jumping event includes completing two courses, the second one shorter but higher than the first. A dropped rail or a refusal counts four faults, and exceeding the time limit also earns faults.

McLain Ward of Brewster, N.Y., returned for the second round on his mare Sapphire after earning eight faults in the first.

“She’s been jumping very good,” Ward said. “A little mistake here and there costs a lot at the Olympics. This is an incredible team to be part of.”

He had a bigger mistake in the second round when his bridle broke and he had to withdraw.

Beezie Madden of Syracuse, N.Y., was the heroine of the team event, also called the Nation’s Cup, earlier in the week when she and her young horse Authentic put in two clear rounds and led the Americans to a silver medal.

But her hopes for an individual medal ended in the first round Friday, when she earned 12 faults.

“We had a great day in the Nation’s Cup, and that’s what we came for,” said Madden. “He’s had a lot thrown at him this week. The Nation’s Cup was exciting, and I’ll never forget it.”

Earlier in the week, Germany won the team show jumping gold, while the United States took silver over Sweden in a timed jumpoff.

In the other Olympic equestrian events, Americans took team bronze in dressage. They also won team bronze and individual silver in three-day eventing after the dust cleared from a series of medal reversals.

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