Templar Gold, the new mount of Bermuda's Olympic eventer MJ Tumbridge, has taken another step towards qualification for the Pan Am Championships.

The seven-year-old, bought for a bargain ?2,500 two years ago, is fast helping Tumbridge forget the tragic events of the Sydney Olympics when her ride then, Bermuda's Gold, had to be put down after shattering its left hind leg.

After taking some time to get back in the saddle, Tumbridge has put all her efforts into Templar Gold.

And over the weekend she competed in a top class event in the royal setting of Windsor, England.

The horse came through the two-star competition with flying colours despite suffering a severe medical problem halfway into the proceedings.

"We started the event with our vet inspection on Wednesday which was absolutely fine," Tumbridge said. "The horse trotted really well which is always a good start. It's always nerve racking doing vet inspections because you know your horse is sound but anything can happen."

The next stage was the dressage - which at this stage of the horse's development is not her favourite.

"I knew she was going to prove a little green during that part," Tumbridge said. "She finished mid-field so it wasn't a disgrace. It was down to a little of inexperience really. She did everything I asked but it just wasn't good enough."

Ranked 34th out of about 60 horses Templar Gold then went into the cross country section.

"On that day the horse was absolutely fantastic. She went across the ground well and jumped over the fences perfectly and was well under the time and definitely showed four star potential," Tumbridge said.

"I was absolutely delighted and she moved up to 21st. She was spot on and I couldn't have asked any more of her.

"She was jumping fences that she had never seen. There were two water complexes which required jumping into the water and jumping out. She was being tested for her bravery and she passed with flying colours."

The only disappointment came during the next stage, the show jumping.

"The horse had quite a few rails down but in saying that she also had an abcess on her ear," said the rider.

"The vet had seen it and we knew what was happening and were making plans to get it seen to after the event.

"But a couple of hours after the showjumping it exploded. While we were jumping I was thinking 'My gosh, what is happening here? She is not really into it, I am having to work hard' but actually the poor horse must have been in a lot of pain.

"The running around the cross country must have put a lot of pressure on the ear and it just burst. She had blood everywhere and it was really nasty."

As a result Templar Gold dropped from 19th down to 35th.

However, the disappointment of the showjumping was tempered by the fact that the horse, thanks to going clear in the cross country, had qualified for a three star event next year.

"The season for this horse has now come to an end, there is nothing more for her to do," Tumbridge said. "She is having a couple of weeks off. She will have some treatment on her ear because that needs to be addressed. Then she is going to start back doing dressage training with my trainer Alex Drew.

"We'll do some showjumping through the winter and I know she is going to come out next year a much stronger horse."