As kings and queens of extreme conditions, competitors at Les 5 Étoiles de Pau were not deterred by the weather today, which was clearly wetter than forecast by the specialists. Caroline Harris (GBR) took the lead ahead of her compatriots Rosalind Canter, Tom McEwen and Piggy March. China’s Alex Hua Tian put in a very serious cross-country performance and is lying in ambush in 5th place. Luc Château was the French No.1 (19th).
It was forecast and stayed for the entire cross-country test. ‘It’ was the constant rain that poured down on the Domaine de Sers, drenching horses and riders from the first out to the last home. The amazing work done by the volunteers and technical teams made sure that the show could go on in total safety for the athletes – both horses and riders.
Nine fences were withdrawn owing to the adverse weather conditions, but the course designed by Pierre Michelet was still more than worthy of a 5* eventing competition. Not one of the 71 horse-rider pairs managed to make it home within the time allocated to complete the 5,213 metres (just 9’09’’), and those that came the closest leaped up in the provisional rankings.
New-Zealand rider Tayla Mason, rode home in 9’35’’, moving up from 19th to 12th place, but it was British rider Caroline Harris who came in a second faster (9’34’’) who made the most astonishing comeback of the day, from 22nd to 1st place.
“If I’m honest, I didn’t really want to run, because I was a bit scared about the ground, but I know the horse loves the mud. He ran really well at Lignières in the mud. So some friends of mine gave me a kick up the arse so I would actually go, and he ran really well, he was perfect from start to finish.” said Caroline.
Overnight leader following the dressage phase of the event with Izilot DHI, Ros Canter (GBR), managed to hold on to 2nd place, at just a few tenths of a second behind the new leader. Her fellow countryman, Tom McEwen, world no.1, stayed in the lead for most of the day, but ended in 3rd place after a nail-biting cross-country test.
“I felt that both my horses kept their ears pricked all the way round today and despite the challenging conditions, the mud was so wet that although it slowed them down, I didn’t actually feel that it sucked them up or delayed their jump or anything like that, so I think they came out having had a very positive experience.” said Ros.
Things weren’t as joyful in the French camp with the elimination of the best two horse-rider pairs in the provisional ranking (Benjamin Massié on Filao de Perle, and Louis Seychal with Bakar de l’Océan LA). Luc Château (Cocorico de l’Ebat) and Camille Lejeune (Dame Decoeur Tardonne) now have the best French results, ranking 19th and 24th respectively this evening.
Given the relatively small gaps in the provisional rankings, the final show jumping test scheduled for tomorrow from 3.00pm promises to be full of suspense. Victory should go to one of the top five pairs – four British riders and Chinese rider Alex Hua Tian. For Luc Château, a course without penalties could propel him into the top 10, which would be a very fine performance.
Tomorrow’s horse inspection is set to get underway from 11.45am before the final showjumping test of this CCI5* international event at 3pm. You’ll be able to catch the final results here on Everything Horse.
Feature image: Caroline Harris (GBR) riding D. Day in the cross country at Les 5 Étoiles de Pau. Photo credit Laura Dupuy
Suzanne Ashton: BA (Hons) in Marketing Management, Diploma in Equine Studies, B.E.M.A Member. An entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in marketing, publishing, content curation, editing, and media writing. Avid equestrian, riding since the age of 5 and owning horses for over 35 years. Proud mum to humans, dogs, and a horse.