Outram rider Clarke Johnstone will now play the waiting game.
Johnstone finished fifth at the Badminton Trials yesterday morning [NZ time] on his mount, Balmoral Sensation.
He was sixth going into the final showjumping leg, where he pushed ahead of fellow New Zealander Jock Paget.
Mark Todd was the best-performed rider from New Zealand, finishing fourth.
The event was won by German rider Michael Jung, who proved unstoppable, winning aboard La Biosthetique Sam FBW.
Five New Zealanders finished in the top 15.
Johnstone's clear round in the showjumping leg will do much to pique the interest of the New Zealand eventing selectors. He finished on 45.6 in his first Badminton start.
"My main goal here was to make a good statement to the selectors ahead of the Olympics and I feel we have done that,'' he said in a statement.
"I am rapt with him. It has been a fantastic experience.''
His parents, Rob and Jean Johnstone, were at Badminton and Rob said his son was thrilled with the performance.
Badminton was a prestigious event and Clarke and his horse had performed very well.
His clear round in the showjumping meant his only penalty points were in the dressage competition and time penalties in the cross-country leg.
The horse would now have a rest for two to three weeks, although he would still have some national squad training.
There may be a small competition to enter later in the month, but that may all depend on the condition of Balmoral Sensation.
The four-person New Zealand equestrian team for Rio de Janeiro is due to be named late next month. There has been five members of a team in previous Olympics.
Team medals will be awarded by adding together the best three scores from a country's team from all three phases.
The top 20 individual scores after the showjumping round will then perform a second showjumping round to determine individual medals. Up to three riders per team are in the individual running.
So those competing for individual spots complete one dressage test and cross-country round, and two jumping rounds.
