There are too many computer companies chasing too few sports in the hope of getting their logos before the eyes of the televiewing public and proposals for computer usage ae getting ever more ingenious: time was when a team captain could pick the appropriate combination of horse and rider with nothing more than a judicious eye, but now the United States Equestrian Team has won IBM Corp’s sponsorship for a new computerised ranking system for show jumpers, which will be used to pick horse and rider combinations for international competitions – IBM is supporting the development and operation of the system and providing a PS/2; reading between the lines, this objective method of team selection results from rows over who should represent Uncle Sam in the Puissance and in contention for the trophy so generously donated by Mr Victor Ludorum, but we bet the Brits, using low-tech team selection still manage to beat ’em.
