Ingrid Klimke and Horseware Hale Bob. Photo by Julia Rau.
Pierre Michelet’s track at Les Etoiles course proved to be a solid test for the 31 pairs that ultimately set out on course. The optimum time of 12 minutes and 2 seconds was supremely difficult to obtain, as many riders opted for options throughout the course in an effort to go clear.
Entering the day in a tie for first with William Fox-Pitt and Parklane Hawk, Ingrid Klimke and Horseware Hale Bob laid down a superb, fast round, coming home with a mere .8 in time penalties to solidify their leading score of 40.1. Ingrid’s co-leader William Fox-Pitt withdrew Parklane Hawk prior to the start after retiring Seacookie TSF early on course as one of the first riders out. [Update: William told Horse & Hound that Seacookie “wasn’t happy on the hard ground” and subsequently withdrew Parklane Hawk on account of the ground as well.]
Just one pair made the time today: Joseph Murphy and his WEG mount, Electric Cruise. This pair positively torched their way home, crossing the finish well inside the time to move up to second place after lying 10th overnight. Joseph was held on course for several minutes while repairs were made to fence 25, where Pippa Funnell had fallen previously. The hold proved to be no issue for this pair, and they continued on their way in high gear to come home strong.
Andreas Dibowski and FRH Butts Avedon took us all to school with a lovely round. Although Andreas chose to take a couple of longer routes, he made a clear effort to keep his turns efficient and his horse underneath him to save himself as much time as possible. This pair also came home fast, incuring 5.6 time penalties for third place overnight.
Joseph Murphy also has his second ride, Sportsfield Othello, in the top five. The trailblazers on course, Joseph and Sportsfield Othello turned in a clear round with 2.4 time, a bright spot in the early going when the pair found themselves alone at the finish as the course claimed many early victims.
French rider Arnaud Boiteau and Quoriano ‘Ene Hn’ round out the top five, moving up from 17th place after bringing home 4 time faults.
Erin Sylvester and No Boundaries, Kathryn Robinson and Let It Bee, and Lauren Kieffer and Veronica fill out the sixth through eighth spots, all turning in lovely rounds with time to really set the standard for the North American contingent. The live stream unfortunately did not show much of any of these ladies, but what we did see looked textbook.
Erin Sylvester and “Bucky” were the quickest of the bunch, adding 9.6 time to jump from 3oth into seventh after cross country. Way to move it, girl! Kathryn Robinson will also be over the moon, as this will be her first CCI4* completion should she finish out the weekend.
Lauren Kieffer and Veronica took a few options, which was a contributing factor to their 27.2 time penalties, but this pair looked primed and strong throughout the few moments we saw on the live stream. They survived a hairy moment when Veronica jumped awkwardly into the final water complex, which also cost some time, but they recovered well.
The day didn’t work out quite as well for Sharon White and Wundermaske, who picked up a runout at the C element of fence 7 when they came out of the water with just a bit too much juice to make the skinny work. They later had a bit of a miscommunication after Sharon chose to go the long way around at the second to last, and the fence judges later hit her with another 20 penalties. They’ll go into tomorrow in 21st place.
In all, four pairs retired on course, five were eliminated and seven came home with jumping penalties. Pierre Michelet’s courses are known for demanding nearly perfect accuracy, and many riders were caught out by related distances that required a clear commitment to the lines.
We saw a handful of falls at the final water, fence 25, where it looked like horses misread the jump in and launched at it a bit too exuberantly. Fortunately, all horses and riders who parted ways walked home on their own.
If you missed any of the action from the morning, you can go back through our live updates to see how everything went down.
The final horse inspection will take place at 9:10 a.m. local/3:10 a.m. EST, followed by the CCI4* show jumping beginning at 8:30 a.m. EST. We’ll have much more from Pau tomorrow, so keep it locked right here.
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