Britain's Olympic showjumping prospects received a boost when four of the riders for Sydney scored a decisive victory in the Aachen Nations Cup in Germany.

The Aachen team competition is regarded as the toughest in the world outside the Olympics - but Britain had not won a Nations Cup meeting for two years.

Of the four-man team, Michael Whitaker and Prince of Wales FC, Carl Edwards on Bit More Candy and John Whitaker with Virtual Village Calvaro FC alljumped superb double clear rounds.

Andrew Davies narrowly failed to emulate them, going clear in the first round and making just one mistake in round two with Captain Wellington.

Davies, making his Aachen debut, had covered himself in glory the previous day by winning the Preis der Handwerks on Highland Clover and, like Edwards, is proving himself a valuable addition to a squad previously dominated by the Whitakers and Nick Skelton.

With only three scores in each round to count, the British team, who had not won in Aachen since 1994, emerged victorious with zero, four faults ahead of the strong German side.

The in-form Irish, already winners of three Nations Cups this season, could do no better than third on eight faults.