Tag Archives: Pau 5-Star eventing

Tom McEwen Still in the Lead after Cross-Country at Pau 5-Star Event

Image copyright Nicolas Hodys.

Elated after the semi-finals of the rugby World Cup, the English can also be delighted with the performance of their riders on the cross-country riders in the CCI 5*-L at the Pau 5-Star eventing competition, one of the six most demanding of its kind in the world. Already in first place after the dressage test in the equestrian triathlon, British rider Tom McEwen on his French mount Toledo de Kerser maintained his lead, with just 0.8 penalty points on the cross-country course for overshooting the authorized time. He rode home ahead of his compatriot Alexander Bragg on Zagreb, the only horse-rider pair to complete the course without a single mistake and within the authorized time. Australian rider Christopher Burton on Quality Purdey came in third with 2 penalty points. The highest-ranking French rider after two out of three tests, Olympic team champion Mathieu Lemoine, ranks ninth on Tzinga d’Auzay. It’s the young mare’s first CCI 5*-L competition, at the highest level in the international eventing competition classes defined by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI).

Since 2015, victory has always gone to a French rider: Astier Nicolas (Piaf de B’Neville) in 2015, Maxime Livio (Qalao des mers) in 2016, Gwendolen Fer (Romantic Love) in 2017, and Thibault Fournier (Siniani de Lathus) last year.

Tom McEwen (GBR):

“The course rode exactly as I expected it to when I walked it yesterday: very technical at the start, with lots of turns. The next section was more fluid and I really enjoyed riding the course. For the show-jumping competition tomorrow, I wouldn’t want any other horse: Toledo is a great jumper and it’s up to me to make sure I don’t make any mistakes.

“You had to be concentrated from start to finish when riding the course, because there were potential incidents all the way along. There were some imposing obstacles and sizeable jumps to negotiate at several different points, and there was nowhere really to make up lost time.”

Alexander Bragg (GBR):

“Zagreb is a big horse but hasn’t really got that big a stride. I had to be firmly in control and negotiate the combination fences without slowing him down too much or changing pace. It was a very fluid ride, and I really enjoyed it, especially as it’s the first time here in Pau that I finished within the authorized time.  He’s a great jumper too and in general he responds really well to the sunny French climate, the surface here and the crowds. So it’s going to be a nail-biting competition right up to the end.

“It was a perfect course, a course for riders who make decisive choices and totally assume them.  There was no room for half-choices, and that’s a sign of an intelligently designed course, a fair course for both horses and riders, but which can cause incidents as we saw today.”

Christopher Burton (AUS):

“I’d like to congratulate course designer Pierre Michelet who did an incredible job today. The course was amazing to ride, because it was difficult to ride home while the clock was still green. My horse was great today too, and we’ll do our best tomorrow too. She’s a good mare, but we know that here in Pau, the courses can be extremely technical so we’re crossing our fingers that everything will go well on Sunday.

“When riders have walked the course, I think they come away thinking that everything is feasible and it doesn’t look that difficult, but in the end, there were incidents on almost all the fences, which is a sign of a well-designed course, and an incredibly intelligent course designer.”

Mathieu Lemoine (FRA):

“Tzinga was tired at the end of the course, but I’m really pleased with her performance today. It was a demanding 5-star cross-country course and it was the first time she has competed at this level. As it is her first 5-Star event, I don’t know how she’ll recover before the show-jumping competition tomorrow, and it’s not easy to make a clean round on a show-jumping course with her. Anything could happen, but I’m really delighted with the way she rode today.”

Pierre Michelet (course designer):

“I knew that the first part of the course was going to slow the horses down. Then in the second part, where the riders can gallop through the training centre, the combination fences also slowed the pace. The surface was very soft as it has rained a lot over the last few days. If the surface had been dry, perhaps it would have been easier for the riders to complete the course within the authorized time and we would have had a few more zero penalty rides. Some of the riders perhaps underestimated the course and there were more difficulties than they first thought, like the water in the middle of the track, that looks simple, but caused a few incidents, just as I thought it would.”

Pascal Sayous (Organiser of the Pau 5-Star eventing competition):

“Pau is historically a very English town, and they proved it today before the record crowds we had here today, probably the highest attendance rate we’ve ever had at the Pau 5-Star event. It’s a real honour to work with a course designer like Pierre Michelet and when I ask him to set the difficulty at a certain level, he sets it exactly where I want it.”

JULIETTE FEYTOUT PEREZ
juliette@blizko-communication.com

Tom McEwen Takes First Place after Dressage at the Pau 5-Star Event

Image copyright Nicolas Hodys.

British rider Tom McEwen, currently ranked world no. 12, takes first place at the top of the provisional leaderboard after dressage on Toledo de Kerser (24.0), just ahead of the New Zealander Tim Price, ranked world no. 3, riding Wesko (25.6). The highest-ranking French horse-rider pair, Arnaud Boiteau on Quoriano*ENE HN, comes in fifteenth place in the provisional rankings before the cross-country event (33.2).

Quote from Tom McEwen (GBR)

“I’m delighted to be in first place on the provisional leaderboard after the dressage test.  I could tell that my performance was very smooth, and I think that’s what the judges were looking for today. There’s a lot of good competition in the CCI 5*-L Pau 5-Star event, and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s cross-country event.”

On the cross-country course: “I really came here expecting a twisty track. But now I’ve walked it, it is tricky, but in general a really fluent track with some big fences and positive lines. I wouldn’t say that there are difficulties in one specific area: there are some really big questions all along the track. Perhaps the first water, with the sequence of five very close jumps in sequences: it’s a bit like doing Spring Garden at home, so you need to keep some energy for the end of the course. Then there’s a really big final fence with a difficult corner. The last water is perhaps also a difficulty.”

On Toledo de Kerser: “He’s a really great horse! The start and finish sections of the course are fairly twisty at the start and finish, but there are some really open stretches in the middle where you can make up time. Toledo knows how to handle it all so I’m feeling confident about tomorrow.”

You will find all the results here: https://www.worldsporttiming.com/results/les-5-etoiles-de-pau-2019-265/schedule.html

JULIETTE FEYTOUT PEREZ
juliette@blizko-communication.com

Pau 5* Eventing Competition: Tim Price Heads Provisional Leaderboard after First Half of Dressage

Image copyright Nicolas Hodys.

The 5* eventing competition is well underway! The first fourteen riders on the starting list for the CCI-L 5* competition in the Pau 5-Star event performed their individual tests at the Domaine de Sers. One of the riders to watch in this competition is New Zealander Tim Price, current world number 3 and winner of Le Lion d’Angers World Breeding Eventing championship last weekend in the seven-year-old category. He currently leads the provisional ranking here in Pau, riding his eleven-year-old mare, Ascona M. Ensemble. This year Price and Ascona already won the Lumühlen CCI-L 5*, one of the six most prestigious eventing competitions in the world, an elite circle in which the Pau 5-Star event has its rightful place.

In the French camp, the two riders on the starting list for the dressage tests ranked sixth, Arnaud Boiteau with Quoriano*ENE HN, and tenth, Régis Prud’hon, riding Vanda du Plessis.

You will find all the results here: https://www.worldsporttiming.com/results/les-5-etoiles-de-pau-2019-265/schedule.html.

JULIETTE FEYTOUT PEREZ
juliette@blizko-communication.com

CCI-L 5*: The Champions Are Back

The Pau 5-Star event is part of the very select club of 5-Star eventing competitions. Only six events worldwide are qualified at the highest level and in France, only the Pau 5-Star event has the much sought-after label. The champions will be back again this year, from 24th to 27th October.

The Domaine de Sers in Pau will once again welcome the elite of international eventing. No less than seven riders from the world top 20, an Olympic Champion, and three World Champions are expected to compete here in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques region, but despite the impressive track record of the riders on the star-studded start list, lesser-known riders have surprised us in the past by galloping to victory in Pau. Even though a large delegation is arriving from Great Britain, the flagship nation in this equestrian discipline, victory could come from elsewhere. And why not from France, just like last year?

The top riders have confirmed their participation
Top of the bill for the 2019 edition of the Pau 5-Star event, the Australian and New Zealand riders are tipped as the favourites in a competition where they haven’t always shined in the past. The last time one of these riders galloped home to first place in Pau dates back to Andrew Nicholson’s victory on Nereo in 2012. This year, New-Zealander Tim Price, ranked world no.3, on Ascona M or Wescko and the Australian Chris Burton, no.5, on Quality Purdey will be determined to add their names to the honours list for the prestigious competition in Pau. The road to victory will not be an easy one as the British Armada will be landing in Pau with four of its current leading ambassadors on board. Flying the colours of the Union are World Champions Gemma Tattersall (Chilli Knight or Jalapeno), world no.7, Tom McEwen (Figaro vh Broekxhof or Toledo de Kerser), no. 12, and Rosalind Canter (Zenshera) will be accompanied by Izzy Taylor (Call me Maggie May), ranked world no.17.  Other names in the world top 20 are Swiss rider Ludwig Svennerstal (Balham Mist, El Kazir SP or Salunette), ranked no.13, and Japanese rider Kazuma Tomoto riding Tacoma d’Horset, no.15, will doubtless make their presence felt.

The French cohort led by Olympic Champion Mathieu Lemoine
Perhaps the reason why victory has not smiled upon the Commonwealth riders at the Pau 5-Star event in recent years is because the French are so determined to be at their best on their home turf, in the only national 5* CCI-L.  Since 2015, the highest step on the podium has been always been occupied by a French rider: Astier Nicolas (Piaf de B’Neville) in 2015, Maxime Livio (Qalao des mers) in 2016, Gwendolen Fer (Romantic Love) in 2017, and Thibault Fournier (Siniani de Lathus) last year. In 2019, the tricolour delegation will be led by Mathieu Lemoine, 2016 Olympic Champion in the team event, and this year he has chosen to ride Tzinga d’Auzay. Earlier this year in May, horse and rider came in eighth at the CCI-L 4* in Saumur.  Alongside Lemoine, Arnaud Boiteau will be riding Quoriano*ENE HN, fourth in Lignières just a few weeks ago, Benjamin Massie riding Ungaro de Kreisker, second in the CCIO-S 4* at Pratoni del Vivaro in June, Rémi Pillot riding Tol Chik du Levant, fifth in the 3* Long at Lignières, and Regis Prud’hon riding Tarastro or Vanad du Plessis. Last year in Pau, Siniani de Lathus competed in his first CCI 4* competition (the highest level on the International Equestrian Federation’s competition scale, before the reform of 1st January 2019, which introduced a 5* level). Everyone knows what happened next… so even if the French horses will be competing at 5* level for the first time in Pau, anything is possible!

A new headliner on the starting list of the CCI-L 5* competition in Pau

German Rider Andreas Dibowski confirmed that he would be participating in the Pau 5-Star competition.  He will be riding FRH Butts Avedon, who took him to second place in the Lion d’Angers World Championship in 2010. Currently ranked World 35th, Andreas Dibowski is an experienced team rider and won the European Eventing Championships with the German team this year. His victories with the team include an Olympic Gold medal at the Tokyo / Hong Kong Olympic Games in 2008.

JULIETTE FEYTOUT PEREZ
juliette@blizko-communication.com