MJ Tumbridge has hired a back-up horse to boost her campaign to add an Olympic medal to the Pan Am Games gold she won for Bermuda this year.

Although her aim is to ride her mare Bermuda's Gold in the three-day event in Sydney next year, should the horse get ill or injured, she will now have a replacement ready.

The number two steed is Tunes of Glory, a 12-year-old gray stallion Tumbridge has borrowed from a farm in England.

"I've known the horse for a few years from doing the circuit in England, but I only rode him for six weeks before I came home,'' said Tumbridge, now back on the Island and taking a break from her work on a farm in Surrey, England.

"He's got a good jump on him and he's 12 years-old so he's not green, he's an established horse, and I think we'll be absolutely fine.

"I got him on loan from a lady in her 60s who wanted to see her horse go to the Olympics.'' Tumbridge missed the last Olympics in 1996 for lack of a back-up horse, after Bermuda's Gold slipped and suffered a hairline fracture four days before her scheduled departure to Atlanta.

And the Island's top rider has been trying ever since to insure against a repeat disappointment and placed an advertisement for a back-up horse before her winning performance at the Pan Ams during the summer.

Tunes of Glory's owner answered the ad, but the horse was in Ireland at the time and unavailable for the Games.

Despite her gold medal in Winnipeg, Tumbridge does not yet know for sure whether she has qualified for the Olympics. As Bermuda will not be sending a three-day event team, Tumbridge and Bermuda's other hopeful Tim Collins will have to qualify for individual selection, for which there are only 36 places.

Both rider and horse have to qualify and current world rankings give Tumbridge grounds for optimism. Bermuda's Gold is ranked the 13th best horse globally and Tumbridge the 39th best rider.

"That's the highest I've ever been and a lot of the riders ahead of me will be in teams, so while I can't say that I will definitely be going to Sydney, it's looking very good,'' said Tumbridge.

Confirmation of her qualification is expected in early March next year and Tumbridge is now focusing on securing qualification for Tunes of Glory too.

"I'm looking to take him to compete in Semeur, France,'' said Tumbridge.

"That will be a three-star event, one level below the Olympics, but you can qualify your horse at that level.'' Bermuda's Gold meanwhile is still basking in the glory of living up to her name at the Pan Ams, explained Tumbridge.

"She's enjoying a little vacation at the moment. She's grown her thick winter coat and she's out in the field with all her friends. Soon we'll get her doing some roadwork and get her back to fitness.'' Tumbridge, with her experience of the Barcelona Games in 1992, is well aware of the extra demands of Olympic competition compared to the Pan Ams, but she was nevertheless confident of a good showing in Sydney.

"In the Olympics, you have a four-star course with a longer steeplechase,'' said Tumbridge. "It is also a lot more technical.

"I think I will have as good a chance as any of the riders. I've got experience of the major games, I've just won a gold medal and Bermuda's Gold will be 14 and in her prime.'' Perfect partners: MJ Tumbridge and Bermuda's Gold will be hoping to be together at next year's Olympics, but the rider has hired a second horse in case of injury.