British show jumper Geoff Billington has blasted the Olympic organisers for the surface at Horsley Park which saw one horse fall over and a host of others struggling to keep their horses upright.

The 45 year old on It's Otto was furious after his first qualifying round and claimed the surface was unsuitable for an Olympic event.

"For an Olympics Games, it is disgusting," said Billington. "When you get to a corner, you are more interested in just keeping your horse on its feet.

"The surface was too hard, it has been like it all day and the first horse out fell over.

"I'm not that disappointed with the performance overall. It could have been better, but it was alright for the first day."

Billington, along with fellow British riders John and Michael Whitaker and Carl Edwards, struggled to make an impression on the top of the leaderboard.

John Whitaker was fighting his horse for much of the round which included an refusal.

He said: "It was a very bad dress rehearsal for Thursday.

"Calvaro just wasn't going at all and he made a mistake and ran away, he just wasn't going.

"When we crashed, he just lost his nerve. It was a difficult day today, but I wouldn't use the surface as an excuse."

Michael Whitaker's total of 9.75 on Prince of Wales was the best of the day among the British contingent to leave him in 32nd place after the first of the three qualifying rounds.

Billington's 10.25 sees him in 34th overall, with Edwards and John Whitaker well down the field in 47th (14.75) and 66th (24.75) respectively.

Holland's Jeroen Dubbeldam currently leads the competition, with pre-event favourite Rodrigo Pessoa comfortably placed in 11th.

The next two rounds take place on Thursday with the final scheduled for Sunday.