"I'm looking forward to London 2012 and the return of a normal cross-country competition," Ingrid Klimke, a member of Germany's victorious gold medal-winning team, said after the team's emphatic win in the Olympic three-day-event. Although the competition, which ended with double gold for Germany and double bronze for Britain, has been hailed a resounding success, the cross-country format had to be radically tailored to accomodate Hong Kong's tropical climate.

Under the rules, the Olympic three-day event is run as a four-star event - the same level as Badminton and Burghley - with a cross-country course of between 11-13 minutes. It can only be altered if the welfare of the horses is a concern. In Athens, it was reduced to ten minutes because of high temperatures.

In Hong Kong, after intensive research by the FEI (International Equestrian Federation) into the effects of heat and humidity on horses, it was reduced to eight minutes. The decision, made in February, was not disclosed until last week and has become a point of contention among the team managers.

"We would have prepared our horses differently if we had known in advance," Mark Phillips, the trainer of the United States team, which finished seventh, said. "Keeping the same number of jumping efforts [39] but reducing the course by two minutes made the competition more like a one-day event than a three-day event.

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"The fences came up fast and there was little time to get into a rhythm and open the horses out. The organisers were incredibly lucky that the day was cool [22-26C]. If it had been a hot day, there would have been a lot more tired horses and injuries."

Yogi Breisner, under whose management Britain has won two team silvers in addition to Tuesday's bronze, says he would not have changed his plans had he known about the eight-minute course. But it was no coincidence that Tina Cook, who had prepared her individual bronze medal-winning horse Miner's Frolic only at one-day events this season - Chatsworth and Barbury Castle rather than taking him to Badminton, where Daisy Dick and Sharon Hunt earned their selection - gave the best British performance.

Mike Etherington-Smith, the course designer, who had originally been against shortening his course, was satisfied that the decision had been the right one on welfare grounds but had "no explanation" as to why the FEI disclosed it late.

"We had all been very nervous about the whole project of running the event here," he said. "An incredible amount of work had gone on behind the scenes for a long time to get it right. You're always learning in this game."

Sue Benson, the course designer for the London 2012 three-day event course at Greenwich, was in Hong Kong observing the competition. Greenwich, with its limited space, has been a contentious choice but Benson is convinced of its suitability.

"Coming here has made me even more positive for what we're doing at home," she said. "Greenwich is a great site with masses of lovely terrain." That is a view shared by Breisner, who says having the event there "will be fantastic for the sport".

More importantly, it will return the event to its proper format. Benson said: "I've got the possibility of producing a proper-length course there, more what the riders are expecting. I'm very excited about the challenge."

Britain's showjumping team has suffered a major setback with the withdrawal of Michael Whitaker's Portofino. The mare, 14, a member of Britain's bronze medal-winning team in the 2007 European Championships went lame during the training competition on Monday. "We don't know exactly what's wrong with her," Derek Ricketts, the team manager, said. "She has a skin rash on one heel, which is sore but not enough to make her as lame as she is."

Whitaker's withdrawal gives Nick Skelton, 51, the reserve rider, his chance of a fifth Olympic Games but he is riding only his second-string horse, Russel, rather than his top horse, Arko II. John Hales, who owns both horses, announced earlier this year that Arko, who had a double clear round as part of the winning Nations Cup team in Dublin last week, would not be available for Olympic selection.

The showjumping contest begins on Friday with the first individual qualifier. The team event takes place on Sunday week and the following Monday.