The equestrian team finally got New Zealand on the medal table overnight and now the Kiwi camp can sense more success.
The eventing team - led by veterans Mark Todd and Andrew Nicholson - claimed bronze at Greenwich Park earlier today.
Nicholson told ONE News the medal success was a "very good feeling".
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"I've worked very hard for it and I deserve it and the rest of our team have worked just as hard as I have," he said.
The bronze was Todd's fifth Olympic medal. He also won in 1984 in Los Angeles (gold), in 1988 in Seoul (bronze and gold) and at the 2000 Sydney Olympics (bronze).
"Well I never dreamt when I won [gold] in 1984 in Los Angles I would still be doing it in 2012, let alone winning a medal so I'm absolutely delighted," Todd told ONE News.
But the performance also dashed Todd's hopes of snatching a third individual gold medal - after sitting third overnight, he slipped back to seventh with the top 25 individuals to ride again later in the day.
"[Campino] will normally ping off the ground and I was having to help him a bit more than I usually do," Todd said. "He was trying, but his body was saying `I'm really tired'. It was unlucky I had a fence down, but it was lucky I did not have more as well."
Watch the victory here .
The rowing team and cyclist Linda Villumsen are now hoping to draw inspiration later tonight from the medal-winning ways of the equestrian team, and lift New Zealand above countries such as Mongolia, Moldova and Azerbaijan, none noted for its Olympic pedigree.
Villumsen tonight cycles in her favoured time trial event, in which she has enjoyed recent world championship success.
Unlike the road race earlier in the week, she doesn't require a team of riders to protect her and her bike team-mates were optimistic that she would provide the perfect springboard to open their campaign in the velodrome tomorrow evening with a medal.
New Zealand's other great Games hopes - the rowers at Eton Dorney - also face their first of many days of reckoning when the women's pair of Juliet Haigh and Rebecca Scown compete in their medal race, and Eric Murray and Hamish Bond put their amazing undefeated status on the line again in the men's pair semi.
The men's quad of John Storey, Michael Arms, Matthew Trott and Robert Manson set the tone for the rowing team when they completed a impressive repechage victory to power into semifinals, also tonight.
The Black Sticks men's hockey team get their chance to put their slow start to the Games behind them. They play India - a chance to get their campaign back on track after they lost 0-2 to Korea on Monday.
Catch-up on all the overnight action here .