Olympic Shorts

When Mark Phillips entered the dressage arena of Seoul's new $83 million equestrian park last week, neither luck nor the weather was with him. Dressed in customary black hunting cap and swallowtail coat, the husband of Britain's Princess Anne began the first stage of the grueling three-day equestrian event under a hard, wind-driven rain and placed a mediocre 28th out of 40. Phillips' lot did not improve on the second day: his mount Cartier failed to withstand the speed and endurance test on an obstacle course replete with bamboo hedges and water traps. At that point, the royal son-in-law withdrew from the competition.

Phillips' teammates, however, managed to capture a silver in the event. Team captain Phillips thus drew the honor of accepting the medal from his wife, who is president of the International Equestrian Federation. The team gold in the event went to West Germany, and the individual gold was won by New Zealand's Mark Todd, who, along with his trusty steed Charisma, repeated an L.A. gold- medal performance. "Charisma just rose to the occasion," said the former dairy farmer, who announced that the horse will soon enter a pampered retirement.