LONDON (AP) -- Saudi Arabia leads the standings at the Olympic equestrian team show jumping competition after a first day dominated by a veterinarian's decision to disqualify a Canadian horse.
The Saudis had just one penalty point Sunday and were followed closely by the Netherlands, Britain, Sweden and Switzerland, all with four penalty points and tied for second.
Standings can quickly change in the second round of competition Monday, meaning Canada in sixth place with five points and the United States, tied with Brazil in seventh with eight points, are still in the running for medals. The field was narrowed from 15 teams to seven.
Canadian horse Victor, ridden by Tiffany Foster, was disqualified by competition veterinarians for hypersensitivity in the left front leg. This left Canada without a drop score in the competition where the best three scores out of four riders count.
Canada coach Torchy Millar said Victor had a minor sore spot on his leg, possibly from nicking himself with a hoof in a stall, and that a protest will be lodged, but that Foster is still out of the competition.
The issue of hypersensitivity has followed international show jumping for years because capsaicin - the main ingredient in chili peppers - can be used to make a horse's legs over-reactive to touch and thus jump higher. Several jumping horses were disqualified at the 2008 Beijing Olympics for testing positive for capsaicin.
Jumpers in competition can easily get small leg cuts, and the tests for hypersensitivity do not distinguish between heat in a leg caused by a minor sore or by a foreign substance. Millar said Victor was not tested for the presence of a foreign substance.
"This is like getting a scratch on the finger and then saying you're not fit for competition," Millar said. "The ruling lacks any balance at all."
Canada's leadoff rider, Eric Lamaze, who won individual gold in Beijing while his team took silver, said his teammates are determined to be on the medal podium Monday where Foster can join them.
"That would be the biggest reward of all," Lamaze said. "She has the support of all her teammates."
Princess Haya Al Hussein, president of the International Equestrian Federation, said at a news conference that there was no suspicion of a foreign substance.
"I want to be very clear that there is no accusation of malpractice," Haya said. "We all need to be protective of the horses."
The federation president's comments were followed by those from a tearful Foster.
"I just want to say I would never do anything to jeopardize the welfare of my horse," Foster said. "I feel really bad for my team."
Ian Millar - no relation to the coach - rode a penalty-free anchor round to boost his team's chances. The 65-yer-old is in his 10th games, a record for an athlete in any sport.
"I'm sick about it," Ian Millar said of the vet's decision. "The way the rule is written, it's not an equitable interpretation."
The strong showing by Saudi Arabia comes after a decision to field a jumping team for the 2012 Olympics, according to a team spokesman. A program was started in 2009 by Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud to provide the best horsepower and trainers for his country's top riders, including his son, Al Saud, who led the team's strong showing Sunday.
Earlier, Syrian rider Ahmad Saber Hamcho scored 28 penalty points on Wonderboy, which drops him from the competition for individual medals. A small group opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad has been protesting outside the entrance to Greenwich. Thousands of people have died in a civil war that has grown out of an uprising against Assad that began in March 2011.
