LONDON — Standing slightly behind and apart from chef d’equipe Torchy Millar, endeavouring to explain why Tiffany Foster’s 10-year-old gelding Victor had been disqualified from these Olympics, Eric Lamaze paced back and forth in mounting anger.

“It’s insane,’’ muttered the defending Olympic individual show-jumping champion. “It’s a joke.’’

Tiffany Foster’s first Olympic experience has ended prematurely, in tears. A random test taken in Victor’s stall Sunday morning, shortly before the second day of competition, discovered a hypersensitivity in the left front leg, just above the hoof. Sensitivity in a tiny scratch or crack showed up in a thermological exam, which uses highly detailed and sensitive infrared images.

The Canadians offered to bring the horse out of his stall and walk it around to prove its fitness, but the entreaties fell on deaf ears. An appeal was launched immediately, but Millar held out little hope of having the decision overturned.

The heavy damage, to an athlete, to a group, has already been done and Foster was too upset to speak to the media. The official ruling: there was “no accusation of malpractice but the horse has been deemed unfit to compete by the Grand Jury.”

So just as they did in Beijing four years ago — after Mac Cone’s horse, Ole, was injured in the second round of qualifying — the Canadians rallied with three horse/rider combinations to reach Monday’s team final of eight countries. Teams of four are allowed to drop their lowest score, while all the Canadian scores must count.

“A thing like this is potentially very dangerous to a team,’ said linchpin Ian Millar, competing here in a record 10th Olympiad. “It can undo a team, right now, because the whole focus could shift. Tiffany’s in tears, we’re all crazed, our results are compromised. The whole thing’s a mess.’

Fortunately, Canada has three veteran campaigners — Lamaze, Ian Millar and Jill Henselwood — on whom to rely. Lamaze, aboard Derly Chin de Muze, suffered only a time fault to finish two qualifiers with just the one; Millar went clear on Star Power for four; and Henselwood rallied with George for a four-fault trip, and nine total.

“We defied the odds last time,’’ said Millar. “We’ll see if we can defy them again.’’

The rules were written the way they were to give Federation Equestrian International the widest possible latitude when dealing with injuries, Millar said.

“However,’’ he added, “at that point, some common sense has to come into it.”

“It’s a girl’s Olympic dream ...,’’ stewed Torchy Milar. “It’s an FEI rule to protect the welfare of the horse. It makes no allowance for just normal everyday procedure. You get a little nick on your finger it’s going to have some heat in it. This is like getting a scratch on your finger and the referee saying you’re unfit for competition. That’s the equivalent. Every rule needs to be applied with a sense of balance, perspective and common sense. To me, and compatriots from other teams, this seems to lack any balance at all.

“The horse doesn’t even get brought out of the stall, look at it jog. They poke it with their fingers and there’s a thermography [exam]. We’re disappointed on a lot of levels. But I do think that perhaps this will help the FEI to get a sense of perspective.’’

Ironically, earlier in the day, before the storm broke, Henselwood spoke about the obstacles this Canadian group had already encountered here in London.

“When we went to Beijing we were riding the red carpet,’’ she sighed. “The Canadians could do no wrong. Everything went our way and we ended up silver. We were a three-man squad. Unheard of! But here, I’ve got to say, we’ve run into challenges, weather. Just look around the corner and there’s a little something going on.’’

She hadn’t seen the half of it.

Torchy Millar was out having a coffee, walking the course, when news of the controversy reached him. Foster — a 28-year-old protege of Lamaze from Schomberg, Ont. — wasn’t in the barns at the time of the exam. After a 10- to 15-minute consultation, officials said the horse had been DQed.

For Foster, it was a crushing turn of events. She overcame a broken back suffered in 2008 while schooling a young horse to reach these, her first Games.

“They have no idea of the collateral damage here to the sport in Canada, owners, the girl herself,’’ said Ian Millar. “The potential for collateral damage is terrible. The idea was always give the benefit of the doubt to the athlete. In this case, it’s the opposite.’’

The only revenge would be to finish top three again in Monday’s final with three riders; if they do, Foster will receive a medal.

“That would be the biggest reward for us,’’ said Torchy Millar. “She has 100-per-cent support of all her teammates. We feel devastated for her.’’

gjohnson@calgaryherald.com

Read more: Equestrian team devastated after Tiffany Foster's horse disqualified at Olympics