Ingrid Klimke pilots a fourth horse to a Young Horse World Championship. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The Young Horse World Championships at Le Lion d’Angers have historically never taken any prisoners where the final phase is concerned, with this ordinarily acting as the most influential phase due to a combination of — previously — tough footing and big, tricky courses. Though the footing in the main arena has been replaced with a new and widely celebrated surface, the courses built upon it today were no less challenging than normal.

The primary challenge in this morning’s Six-Year-Old World Championship, held at the CCI2*-L level, was the time. Initially set at 78 seconds, it looked tight enough for the first handful of riders — but then the decision was made to shorten it to 76 seconds, and the pressure was truly ramped up. Competitors were pushed to take risks, riding positively to cover ground in distances rather than letting the distances ebb and flow conservatively. This put an unfamiliar and educational onus on these young horses to take responsibility for the effort they made over the fence once they got there — a lesson several horses worked out rather too late, as the poles continued to tumble through this early session.

Those who came into the ring buoyed along by the experience of their riders certainly found themselves benefitting today — and that was certainly the case with our eventual winners, Germany’s Ingrid Klimke and Cascamara.

Ingrid Klimke and Cascamara. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The pair had held second place throughout the competition to Britain’s Tom McEwen and MHS Brown Jack, who toppled two rails to finish sixth overall — an aching reminder of last year, in which Tom lost the seven-year-old class in this pace. This allowed Ingrid and Cascamara — a Westphalian mare by Cascadello II — to step into the winning position after their capable, scopey clear round.

It’s fun to watch these young horses, who are starting to get an idea of the task at hand but who haven’t quite mastered the mechanics of it all yet. Such was the joy of Cascamara, who’s plenty athletic enough to leave a foot or two of air over each fence — sometimes a necessity, because she hasn’t yet learned how to lift her shoulder and snap her legs up. That she could come to Le Lion and produce this result after only a year in partnership with Ingrid, though, is testament to the remarkable ability she has.

“It’s really amazing for me as well, because Hans Meltzer said to me, ‘remember that when you started back in the end of July, she really was very, very novice’,” says Ingrid. “When I was thinking about Le Lion this year, I thought, ‘well, my six-year-old is much too green’, and I wasn’t thinking that this would be my aim.”

The mare’s CCI2*-S debut in Kronenburg in early August made Ingrid rethink, though, when they finished third after adding just 0.8 time penalties across the country to their 24.6 dressage. Three more runs at the level followed, each equally capable and earning the mare eighth place, second place, and a win just prior to Le Lion.

“She was so clever and did so well that Hans said, ‘well, why don’t you go to Le Lion just to gain some experience for her?’ That’s she’s the winner of the day showed me how much quality she has,” Ingrid says. “She was so clever and so calm from the inside; in the jumping she was so focused away from the rails. It really was pure fun to ride her through all three phases.”

Ingrid Klimke and Cascamara. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

This is a fourth win at the venue for Ingrid, who took the seven-year-old title in 1998 with eventual WEG gold medallist Sleep Late and again in 2016 and 2018 with Weisse Dune and SAP Asha P, respectively. Though many riders use this championship — and particularly this class — as something of a shop window, Ingrid has historically used it to hone her future stars. In Cascamara, she’s certain she’s found another one — and the myriad of lessons the horse has learned this week will be a fundamental part of her trajectory.

“First of all, she got the chance to perform in a stadium all on her own, where she was so focused and absolutely with me,” says Ingrid of the mare she says can often be spooky. “I feel that one day she’ll be a brilliant dressage queen when she listens so much to the rider and wants to please. In the cross-country she was still a bit spooky — she saw things like the fence judges and all the little animals around here and I realised that she was listening to all the things, but when it came to the fence, she had such a sharp jump and was using her whole body.”

This nearly got the pair into some trouble early on due to the mare’s enthusiasm, though this became an important learning opportunity, too.

“At the first water she jumped much too huge, but that meant that in the second water she realised that she has to just keep a straight line. I think that she was very bold — the further we got around the course, the more I felt she was really fluently and easily galloping in the time,” she says. “I haven’t done nine minutes before so I didn’t know if the stamina was okay, or if she was the kind of horse who has a fifth gear — but it was easy. I was always looking at my watch thinking, ‘I’m ten seconds under the time’. It showed me that she has the stamina for the longer formats.”

With a major milestone ticked off, Ingrid has set her sights on dreaming big with the mare.

“I think she’s definitely a top horse for the future, and that’s why I like to come here every time — because this is really a little championship,” she says. “They learn so much from the variety of fences, so when they finish here, you can really tell the whole potential. When you buy a young horse — like we did with her a year ago — you always have this dream and this wish that from this little pony will be a big star. She has grown so much in one year.”

Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Oliver Townend‘s Irish Sport Horse mare Cooley Rosalent, by Valent, jumped a tremendously easy clear round, benefitting from Tom’s rails to finish as Reserve Six-Year-Old World Champion. Like Ingrid, Oliver has high hopes for his horse.

“She was fantastic through the week,” he says. “We like her a lot; coming here was more about the education than about the result. We think she’s a very good one for the future, so we shall see.”

That education came in the form of running over a much longer course than the young horse has ever seen before.

“I think she’s answered every question. She’s definitely on the green and babyish side to be here, but I think she’ll progress hugely from a strength point of view from this. She can have a nice long break now and hopefully come back a stronger horse for next season,” he says.

Merel Blom and Corminta Vom Gwick. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The Netherlands’ Merel Blom and Corminta Vom Gwick continued their climb up the ranks, moving from 7th after dressage on 30.7 to 5th after a clear round inside the time yesterday and finally, an eventual third place today after jumping clear with 1.2 time penalties. The Holsteiner mare, by Cormint out of a Contendro mare, gave Merel the first of two top ten finishes today: she also finished eighth in the CCI3*-L with Crossborder Radar Love.

Tiana Coudray and Cabaret. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

British-based US rider Tiana Coudray and Cabaret, a Holsteiner by Clinton, were one of just six combinations to finish on their dressage score — a feat that becomes even more remarkable when you remember that the diminutive, pretty mare was only broken in in August of 2019. She’s always been something of a prodigy, though — she began eventing just a month after being back, promptly qualifying for and competing in the Burghley Young Event Horse Final. The trip to Le Lion, confesses Tiana, was only every intended to give the horse some mileage — but finishing fourth after climbing from initial 17th is an enormous bonus.

“I’m totally in shock,” she laughs. “We thought we’d just take her because it’s an amazing to come to, and her owner [Jules Cournane] was keen for her to come. We thought, ‘well, she’s quite brave and it shouldn’t upset her, so we might as well go!’ We had no expectations whatsoever — we just thought it’d be a nice education for her. We never thought she’d be as amazing as she was.”

Yesterday’s cross-country proved an ample challenge for Cabaret, who set off as a very green six-year-old and returned home considerably more mature, having tackled a wide variety of obstacles and terrain as well as her own tiredness as she found her feet over nine minutes.

“The first few fences she was very green, and she was very taken by the crowd — though there wasn’t much of a crowd,” she says, explaining that a relatively large number of people at the start provided an early distraction. “I did think on the way to fence three that it was going to be a long way around the course, because she was so starstruck by everything — she was looking at the trees, and looking at the people, and I thought ‘god, we’ve got nearly nine minutes of this!’ But then she got better and better and better. Every jump she jumped, and every galloping stretch in between, she took them on and finished like a much more experienced horse. I was so proud of her.”

Tiana Coudray and Cabaret defy expectations. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

By this morning’s test, Cabaret couldn’t have looked less starstruck by her surroundings — instead, she was quietly confident and happy in her own space, watching the world unfold around her with interest but sans reaction.

“That’s completely her — she’s literally done three Novice events, and at each one she’s been like, ‘okay, I’ve learned that now!’,” says Tiana. “That’s why we though she’d be alright here, but she’s just kept stepping up — each day she’s been like, ‘okay, I get it now!'”

They weren’t the only major climbers through the week — clear rounds today were hard to come by, with just six combinations producing fault-free rounds over the poles. This, plus the fact that the leaderboard was so tightly bunched, meant that a clear round could send you zooming up it, while even the slightest error could make your chances of a top placing plummet.

Cathal Daniels and LEB Empress. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Fifth-placed Cathal Daniels and LEB Empress, an OBOS Quality mare representing Ireland and the Irish Sport Horse studbook, finished on their dressage score of 34.4 to move up from 21st place after dressage. The clever, fiery looking little mare impressed us throughout the competition, and more than once seemed to be channelling the spirit of stablemate, and fellow queen-bee mare, Rioghan Rua in her performances.

The final top five in the Six-Year-Old World Championship.

A redemption arc in the CCI3*-L

Sweet redemption: Sophie Leube and Sweetwaters Ziethen TSF. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Some wins are just meant to be, and that of Germany’s Sophie Leube and Sweetwaters Ziethen TSF has seemed written in the stars throughout the week. They returned after a fifth-place finish last year, wherein they’d sat second after the first two phases but struggled to retain their footing in the quagmire of the main arena on Sunday. As the licensed Trakehner stallion gamely tried to pick his way through the course, skiing his way down the lines, he found himself too deep to the second element of the double and was forced to drop anchor. As was the case so many times for so many horses and riders last year, it wasn’t a fair or honest representation of their ability.

And so their return this year was so hotly anticipated, particularly with the addition of the new arena surface. A 27.6 in the first phase saw them dance into the lead, while an almost laughably easy clear inside the time yesterday kept them there. All it would take today was a clear — and though the stallion (by Abendtanz) is a canny and catlike jumper, his FEI record shows a proclivity for knocking the odd rail. The tension — somehow both heightened and broken by Germany’s showjumping trainer Marcus Döring dancing around as though on hot coals and occasionally bellowing “GALOP!” — was colossal. Could the stallion seize the redemption he so deserved?

Sophie Leube and Sweetwaters Ziethen TSF. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

He could. The pair jumped a beautiful, professional clear round, securing the horse the World Champion title and causing Sophie, who’s never been spotted without a smile on her face, to burst into a flood of happy tears.

“I still can’t believe it,” she says. “I’ve ridden this stallion since he was four and he’s never done a single jump with another rider, so I’m super proud and happy that we achieved being the winners of a World Championship. I knew that he could do it, but at the end I didn’t expect it at all, so I’m very, very happy.”

The combination were one of very few pairs to makes yesterday’s track look straightforward, which Sophie credits to his manoeuvrable personality.

“It was amazing,” she says. “He was just listening to me, and his canter is so big so I don’t have to hurry him; he just wants to canter, but at the same time he’s listening to come back to me and make the turns and see the flags.”

Though the stallion covered a nearly nine-and-a-half minute track yesterday, he came out bright-eyed and full of power for the final challenge this afternoon.

“He was super today; he was jumping great, he didn’t want to touch anything, and he was very fresh,” Sophie says. “He knew what to do and he did it.”

Though Ziethen has progressed significantly in the last year, always been ‘the perfect horse’ to Sophie.

“He’s developed in all three disciplines quite a lot,” she says. “He’s always been a strong, positive, calm horse — he’s very focused and has very good character, so that was always a good base to work on. He wants to do it right and he’s not crazy. He’s just a good worker, so it’s a pleasure to train him.”

Donatien Schauly and Dgin du Pestel Mili. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The French contingent and the Selle Français studbook enjoyed a good day in the office in this class, with Donatien Schauly jumping a clear round with Dgin du Pestel Mili (by Nartago) to finish as Reserve World Champion, climbing from fifth after dressage.

Nicolas Touzaint slips to third after a single rail. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Donatien swapped spots on the leaderboard with fellow countryman Nicolas Touzaint, who tipped a pole aboard the striking grey Diabolo Menthe, second throughout the competition, to drop down one place.

Bittersweet: Nicolas Touzaint rues his toppled rail. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Fourth place went to Alex Bragg and Ardeo Premier, who clawed their way up the leaderboard through the week after a rider error in their test put them into 16th place. A fast clear yesterday moved them up to seventh, while another foot-perfect round today moved them into fourth and made them one of just three combinations to finish on their dressage score.

Alex Bragg and Ardeo Premier. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Fifth-placed Camille Lejeune and his Dame Decoeur Tardonne very nearly managed it, but were among those caught out by the tight time on course. They added 1.2 time penalties, moving up five places after cross country and 21 places after dressage.

Camille Lejeune and Dame Decoeur Tardonne. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Just nine horses would jump round without knocking rails, proving that Le Lion’s showjumping test can still be enormously influential even without tough ground to work over. The surface to jump on on the final day feels rather like the cherry atop the cake: the week has been rooted wholly in education and growth for these super young horses, and whether they covered themselves in glory or made green errors throughout the challenges set, they’ll all have learned a huge amount here. That they could be afforded the opportunity to enjoy the final phase, rather than being punished by it, is proof that the organisers here really do have the best interests of their competitors at heart.

And so with much fondness, it’s a bittersweet au revoir for now from Le Lion d’Angers. We’ll be back with some extra content for you to enjoy, and, of course, all the Pau CCI5* content you could care to encounter over the next week. Join us for part two of our big French adventure, coming soon.

Go Eventing!

The final top five in the Seven-Year-Old World Championship.

Gireg le Coz presents Drakkar Littoral on a foggy final morning at Le Lion. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

It always feels like the final horse inspection here at the Young Horse World Championships at Le Lion d’Anger is particularly high-intensity — likely because these young talents haven’t yet learned how to run over nine minutes, get a good night’s kip, and come out bright and early ready for the final showdown the next day. As a result, we often see a couple of big names bow out at the penultimate hurdle, the final horse inspection — and this morning was no exception.

32 combinations came forward to present for the six-year-old CCI2*-L, down by one after the overnight withdrawal of Italy’s Rebecca Chiappero and Cooley Kil Mhantain, 11th after cross-country.

Roland Pulsinger opts to withdraw Tiefenhof’s Lavalino. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Two horses were held, but ultimately accepted: Spain’s Albert Hermoso Farras‘ Keenabout Wonderland Z, who had also been held at the first horse inspection, and South Africa’s Storm O’Connor and Ballygriffin Chacoa Power. Tiana Coudray, presenting Cabaret for the United States of America, was asked to trot a second time and subsequently accepted, while Austria’s Roland Pulsinger was sent to the hold box with Tiefenhof’s Lavalino and ultimately opted to withdraw.

The remaining 31 combinations will showjump from 11:00 a.m. local/10.00 a.m. UK/5.00 a.m. Eastern.

Laura Collett and Moonlight Charmer end their competition on Sunday morning. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

There was similar drama to be found in the seven-year-old CCI3*-L inspection, in which Britain’s Alex Bragg and Ardeo Premier and Laura Collett and Moonlight Charmer, 7th and 4th after cross-country, respectively, were held, as was Ireland’s Paul Donovan with Sportsfield Lux Impressive. Moonlight Charmer was unfortunately spun upon representation, while both the other held horses were accepted.

The 27 remaining seven-year-olds will showjump from 14.30 local/13.30 UK/8.30 a.m. Eastern. You can follow along live here — and we’ll be bringing you all the news you need to know through the day.

Go Eventing!

Le Lion d’Angers: Website | Start Times and Live Scoring | Live Stream | EN’s Coverage | EN’s Instagram | EN’s Twitter

Tom McEwen and MHS Brown Jack clear the final combination. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

There’s always a heightened sense of anticipation in the air before the pivotal cross-country phase at an international, but never more so than in this funny old year of stops and starts. That anticipation, of course, was heightened by the fact that today’s competition is a true challenge for six- and seven-year-olds, most of whom came here with considerably less mileage than they might have done in any other year.

But it’s not just the tension of the ‘will they’s and ‘won’t they’s that makes Saturday at Le Lion feel like such a special undertaking. Much of it comes down to the unique beauty of the course itself, which wends its way through undulating parkland, in and out of picturesque Loire Valley woodland, and onto the racetrack at the heart of it all. The Pierre Michelet course is as much a labour of love as it is a functional entity, and that can be seen throughout in the extraordinary artistry that the Le Lion team utilises to create these incomparably picturesque fences. In short, it’s a treat and an education, no matter your role in the larger machinations of the thing.

Today’s cross-country challenge began with the six-year-old CCI2*-L, for which 37 starters came forward representing 17 nations. Though it’s not a course that’s particularly large dimensionally, for these inexperienced horses the class is largely a test of stamina and fortitude as they negotiate a nine-minute track for the first time. Super footing and sparse crowds — and thus minimal distractions — certainly helped today, and just four horses failed to complete the challenge set.

The leaderboard was altered from the get-go as New Zealand’s Samantha Lissington and Ricker Ridge Ricochet, third after dressage, withdrew before this phase due to what is believed to be a spider bite on the mare’s leg. The top contenders were further thinned by an excruciating elimination for Australia’s Kevin McNab and Cute Girl, fourth after dressage, who looked classy around the early part of the course but jumped one of the seven-year-old CCI3*-L fences in error.

Tom McEwen and MHS Brown Jack wait patiently in the start box. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Ultimately, the top spot would stay with Great Britain’s Tom McEwen and MHS Brown Jack, who were one of 25 pairs to jump around clear and inside the 8:58 optimum time. This is just a third international run for the Irish Sport Horse gelding by OBOS Quality, and he continues a hot streak of penalty-free cross-country runs with today’s performance.

“He really learned as he went around,” says Tom. “He’s a big horse — over 17hh — and so he’s a lot of horse to get around a course. He started feeling it at about seven minutes but he kept on jumping brilliantly — at anything complicated or a bit bigger he threw a lovely jump and really paid attention. I couldn’t be happier with him.”

Though the horse has never yet had the experience of showjumping the day after a long cross-country, his record over poles is formidable, too — he’s showjumped clear in both his internationals and knocked just one rail across his five runs, national or international, in 2020.

No fear here: Ingrid Klimke and Cascamara take a bold leap into the first water. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Germany’s Ingrid Klimke retained her hold on second place with the Westfalian mare Cascamara, finishing five seconds inside the time — bang on the same time as Tom and MHS Brown Jack, despite an enthusiastic effort at the first water that Ingrid’s impeccable balance saw them through easily.

“I’m very proud of my little mare, because she did a super job and learned a lot,” says Ingrid. “At the beginning she was a bit spooky — especially at the first water, where she did a huge jump in, but then she focused on the C element and from then on I felt that I could enjoy my ride a lot.”

Cascamara has knocked just one rail across her four CCI2*-S career runs, and Ingrid is confident of her chances in the ring tomorrow — particularly with the addition of the new surface.

“She’s a good showjumper; she’s very careful and has a lot of scope, so I look forward to tomorrow, especially as the competition is so tight. I’m really so happy that we can now enjoy being in the ring — we have perfect weather this year, but last year it was so bad that I didn’t showjump with my mare. I didn’t want to risk anything. All the riders were really asking if we could change something, and one year later the organisation has really made this dream come true.”

Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent negotiate the final element of the first water complex. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

There was nothing more that Oliver Townend and Cooley Rosalent, an Irish Sport Horse by Valent, could do than negotiate the course clear and quick and then hope for movement elsewhere, and they did their job impeccably to enjoy a rise into third place after the removal of Kevin McNab and Samantha Lissington from the leaderboard. This is a horse who Oliver describes as one of the best six-year-olds he’s ever had in his yard, and it’s easy to see why — on a day when green wiggles and a bit of hesitation is to be expected, she remained cool-headed and determined across Michelet’s track.

“I was very happy with her,” says Oliver. “I thought, coming here, that she’s very good for the future in that she’s got enough blood for the top level. I was very impressed with how she handled the course; it’s the biggest test that she’s had to date, and she was exceptionally good.”

Music to my ears: Sophie Leube and Isselhook’s First Sight TSF pop the famous Le Lion violin. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Germany’s Sophie Leube, too, benefited from the minimisation of the top of the leaderboard, jumping a quick clear aboard the Trakehner stallion Isselhook’s First Sight TSF to move from sixth to fourth overnight with the former Bundeschampionat.

Merel Blom and Corminta Vom Gwick take a turn around the big house. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The Netherlands’ Merel Blom turned in the second fastest round of the day, finishing in 8:41 — second only to Belgium’s Cyril Gavrilovic and Elmundo de Gasco, 19th in a time of 8:40 — with Holsteiner mare Corminta Vom Gwick to move two places up to fifth.

If it seems like there’s a theme going on here, you’re not wrong: the leaderboard remained largely unchanged today but for that two-slot shuffle, with the only other significant change at the top being Kitty King and Monbeg Hendricks‘ surprise 20 penalties at the final combination on course, which dropped them from 10th to 30th place. Otherwise, things have been pretty plain sailing for our leading combinations, and those nine pairs who did incur errors on the course did so at well-scattered points, with the first water combination at 6ABC claiming the most victims — though, to its credit, even these were evenly spread through the three elements.

You’ll need a breather before we tackle the CCI3*-L, so enjoy this gallery of the remainder of the top ten before we sally forth:

Felix Etzel and Promising Pete TSF. Photo by Peter Nixon.

Germany’s Felix Etzel added another Trakehner challenge to the studbook race with Promising Pete TSF, sixth going into cross-country.

Daniel Dunst and Della Stella SDH. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Austria’s Daniel Dunst and Della Stella SDH continued their surprise fight for a top finish, jumping boldly and faultlessly for overnight seventh.

Karim Florent Laghouag and Embrun de Reno. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

French Olympian and general hero Karim Florent Laghouag piloted Embrun de Reno, who he bought as his Paris 2024 prospect, to a clear inside the time for eighth…

Antonio Cejudo Caro and Gallega HSM. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

…while Spain’s Antonio Cejudo Cara and Gallega HSM stepped up from 13th to overnight ninth after negotiating the track in 8:47.

Sanne De Jong and Jarelly MBF. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Finally, the Netherlands’ Sanne de Jong and her game, exciting Jarelly MBF move up five spots from 15th to 10th after delivering one of the most enjoyable rounds of the day across the country.

The top five after cross-country in the Six-Year-Old World Championship.

Lion heart: Sophie Leube and Sweetwaters Ziethen TSF. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

And then there was the seven-year-old class. After a pleasant morning spent watching a batch of occasionally spider-limbed but otherwise game youngsters gambolling around the course, it was easy to be lulled into a false sense of security — but course designer Pierre Michelet, who’s also responsible for Pau’s tough tracks, is no fool. The seven-year-old challenge here is distinctly more technical, and asks for more responsibility from these older horses — the lines are tougher, though liberally sprinkled with alternative routes, and the time is less lenient, though 12 clear rounds inside the time from 42 starters today prove that it was still certainly attainable.

Just as in the six-year-old class, the CCI3*-L lead remained unchanged, with Germany’s Sophie Leube continuing her domination aboard Sweetwaters Ziethen TSF, a licensed Trakehner stallion by Abendtanz.

“I’m super happy about my horses — both stallions did a great job,” says the rider, who also sits in the top five in the six-year-old class. “The cross-country was super to ride with super ground, and it had very good fences with technical questions. [Sweetwaters Ziethen] definitely benefited from his experience here last year; he’s one year old and more experienced now, and he had no problems with the questions. He did it great.”

This is a much-anticipated return to Le Lion for the stallion, who finished fifth here last year after sitting second throughout when he struggled to maintain his footing in the poor ground on Sunday and had an unavoidable stop in the double.

“It’s good to have the good ground now,” she laughs. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully to have a clear round.”

Nicolas Touzaint and Diabolo Menthe at the final water. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Nicolas Touzaint headed up the home side challenge, remaining in second place aboard the Selle Français gelding Diabolo Menthe, who gained in confidence around the long track after an initial wobbly — though genuine — effort at the first water.

Just 2.5 penalties separate the top two combinations after this phase, and 1.2 separates second-placed Nicolas from third-placed fellow Frenchman Donatien Schauly Adjutant, a product of the Ecole Militare d’Equitation, and the Selle Français Dgin du Pestel Mili, who rose from fifth place after dressage.

Donatien Schauly and Dgin du Pestel Mili clear the colossal hedge near the end of the course. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Olympian Donatien, who comes from an illustrious family of eventers — his father, Didier, represented France in military competition, while his sister, Eurydice, has also evented under the tricolour — has just one CCI3*-S under his belt so far with this horse, in which he finished on his dressage score of 27.3, but in his three two-stars prior to that he’s knocked a rail. In tomorrow’s test, which sees the middle chunk of the leaderboard within fractions of a penalty of one another, he’ll have his work cut out for him.

Laura Collett and Moonlight Charmer sail through the last. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Laura Collett and Moonlight Charmer bolstered British spirits in this class when Laura nursed the Irish Sport Horse gelding — who, like six-year-old leader MHS Brown Jack, is by OBOS Quality — through the first part of the course, allowing him to gain in confidence for the latter stages. They would ultimately finish clear inside the time, moving them from sixth to fourth overnight, but another notable British combination wouldn’t be so lucky — Ros Canter and Izilot DHI, seventh after dressage, were eliminated after three errors on course due to some green inattentiveness.

Merel Blom and Crossborder Radar Love negotiate an influential skinny. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

It was a good day to be Merel Blom, certainly, as she finished the day with her horses in the top five in each class — but she dropped out of a podium position down to fifth with Crossborder Radar Love, a Holsteiner by Diarado, after adding just 1.2 time penalties. In this tightly-packed leaderboard, in which nine of the top ten were penalty-free, that proved expensive — though not irredeemable.

Filippo Gregoroni and Unnamed. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

From here on out, the top ten is wholly populated by dressage outliers, who delivered determined fast clears and capitalised upon the 66% clear rate today to make big moves. First among those — and, indeed, the first on course in this class was Italy’s Filippo Gregoroni and the rather delightfully (if bafflingly) named Unnamed, who were among the fastest finishers at a speedy 9:09, ten seconds inside the optimum time. They weren’t out of the hunt after dressage, which saw them sit twelfth on 34.8, but problems encountered by several high profile contenders gave them the breathing room to move up to sixth.

Those problems were well spread around the course, though with notable concentration at four combinations: the colossal drop fence combination at 19ABC, which was followed by two angled hedges on a steep decline, racked up penalties for five combinations including Lara de Liedekerke-Meier‘s Hooney d’Arville and Ugo Provasi and Quasary du Hans, equal 14th after dressage. The first water complex, too, claimed several scalps, particularly over its skinny final element on dry land, perfectly placed for drive-bys. The final water, with its upright fence in the pond, sent Tom Carlile and Darmagnac de Beliard from 9th place to 21st, while the most influential combination on course — an enormous hedge with a drop on landing, followed by a tight turn to a triple brush — shifted fourth-placed Caroline Powell and Greenacres Special Cavalier down to 20th place and eleventh-placed Gireg le Coz and Drakkar Littoral to 23rd.

Alex Bragg and Ardeo Premier find their line through the final water. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Among those who were able to enjoy a climb were Alex Bragg and Ardeo Premier, who were disappointed to sit 16th after dressage due to a rider satnav error mid-test. They moved up to seventh today, firmly placing the lanky bay gelding as a worthy contender among Alex’s string of, let’s face it, almost totally identical horses. With Zagreb and King of the Mill here too, awaiting their trip to Pau, we wouldn’t be totally convinced he didn’t pull one of them out to ride around today instead.

Tom Carlile and Spring Thyme de la Rose climb ten places to sit 8th overnight. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Though early errors in their test yesterday proved costly for this mare who’ll be a low-20s horse for the future, Spring Thyme de la Rose benefited from the experience of rider Tom Carlile — something of a Le Lion d’Angers specialist — to make light work of the course, jumping around in 9:09 to move from 18th to eighth place.

Fellow Frenchman Karim Florent Laghouag and Don’t Worry de Lameth also made great strides, moving from 21st to ninth with a clear inside the time despite a rather exciting moment at the final water, unashamedly documented below:

Rounding out the top ten is yet another Frenchman riding yet another Selle Français — Camille Lejeune moved 16 places up to tenth with Dame Decoeur Tardonne, making the SF studbook’s fight for another win here look very strong indeed.

Camille Lejeune and Dame Decoeur Tardonne. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

And so now we proceed to the final day with a diminished field of just 28 in this class, down from 48 starters. Let’s take a look at some of the questions on course that proved particularly tricky…

The final water

Ably demonstrated by Lara de Liedekerke-Meier and Hooney d’Arville, the tricky final water featured a tough line and an element in the pond, which saw three horses fault.

The drop to angled hedges at 19

This combination was responsible for five faults on course. Three riders show the elements in turn here:

The hedge to triple bar at 17

The most influential combination on course, this claimed seven faulters.

The top five after cross-country in the Seven-Year-Old World Championship.

Tomorrow morning kicks off bright and early with the final horse inspection, beginning at 9.00 a.m. local time (8.00 a.m. if you’re in the UK; an eye-watering 3.00 a.m. if you’re on Eastern time) with the 33 remaining six-year-old contenders. The seven-year-old field — down to just 28 — will follow on straight after. Then it’s onto showjumping, which is typically built big, tough and influential here, but which will be held for the first time on a surface — but don’t let that lull you into a false sense of security.

As with the rest of the competition, you’ll be able to follow all the action live. The six-year-olds will jump from 11.00 a.m. local/10.00 a.m. UK/5.00 a.m. Eastern, while the seven-year-olds take to the arena from 14.30 local/13.30 UK/8.30 a.m. Eastern.

Until next time, folks, Go Eventing.

Le Lion d’Angers: Website | Start Times and Live Scoring | Live Stream | EN’s Coverage | EN’s Instagram | EN’s Twitter

The Lion of Le Lion. Photo courtesy of CrossCountryApp.

There are a few prominent reasons to bring a young horse to the FEI World Breeding Championships at Le Lion d’Angers. You might be trying to put its name in lights as a shop window for your business or your studbook, or you might be trying to offer it an incomparable education facing assorted challenges such as an atmospheric main arena away from the company of friends, a first time across an extended distance, a progressive and productive course featuring fair but tough questions, and of course a deep-end primer in dealing with the French. (We kid; the French are delightful. Foux de fafa.)

Creative building meets clever design on the Le Lion course. Photo courtesy of CrossCountryApp.

The Pierre Michelet courses at Le Lion d’Angers are typically fair for the level, giving these young horses the chance to test their mettle over a longer distance without throwing technical question after technical question at them. Generally, the difficulty is amped up by the presence of an enthusiastic crowd of roughly 35,000 people, who crowd the tightly-roped course and give six- and seven-year-olds their first experience of jumping towards a mass of people. Either they rise to the challenge, retain their focus and gain confidence from the captive audience, or they back off and falter under the pressure. In either case, it’s an excellent way of working out what a horse is made of and how he may need to be produced if the big leagues are the end goal.

This year, of course, it’s a bit different — the crowds are no more, as Lion is being held behind closed doors for the first time due to Covid-19 restrictions. But these young horses also haven’t had the same kind of slow and steady preparation they ordinarily would have; they’ve fit a season in from July, speeding through the qualification process and learning much of what they need to know at home. They’re all fairly green for their age and level, and that’ll present its own unique challenge this year.

The famous violin makes a reappearance on course this year. Photo courtesy of CrossCountryApp.

You can take a look at the six-year-old course plan here, while the seven-year-old plan is available here. The six-year-old class, which starts at 10.30 local time/9.30 British/4.30 a.m. Eastern is 4665m long with an optimum time of 8:58, while the seven-year-old class, which starts at 13.30/12.30 British/8.30 Eastern is 5128m in length with an optimum time of 9:19.

Got arachnophobia? Close your eyes and kick on! Photo courtesy of CrossCountryApp.

The kind folks at the Cross Country App have put together course previews for each class, while our friends at the Irish Eventing Times have created a fantastic course flyover video, too. Check them out here, and be sure to give the IET a follow on Facebook and Instagram for more great content from Le Lion and beyond.

Le Lion d’Angers: Website | Start Times and Live Scoring | Live Stream | EN’s Coverage | EN’s Instagram | EN’s Twitter

It’s been all systems go at Le Lion d’Angers this week, where the Young Horse World Championships are well underway and the competition is heating up fast. But it’s always important to enjoy the time you spend in beautiful places with exceptional horses — and that’s just what the riders, grooms and connections behind the scenes are doing. Here’s some of the best snippets of life at Lion from Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Team Ireland were the first to arrive, thereby securing themselves the best possible photo ops in front of the house:

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Global DHI ready to rock this week at the World Breeding Championships for Young Event Horses in Le Lion D’Angers 🇮🇪🇫🇷 #GlobalEventHorses

A post shared by John O Regan (@john_oregan94) on Oct 13, 2020 at 1:13am PDT

But Estonia wasn’t far behind. The golden rule? No matter what time it is when you get to Le Lion, you take a photo in front of the house. Duh.

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Finally @mondialdulion Eggersmann Eesti, Saaremaa Vald, Eesti Kultuurkapital, Eesti Hobusekasvatajate Selts

A post shared by Jaagup Kallas (@jaagupkallaseventing) on Oct 12, 2020 at 11:15pm PDT

As the stables filled up and horses settled into their home for the week, everyone’s true colours started to show:

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The boys going for a candid whilst Cav shamelessly poses ❤️

A post shared by Jip (@jipadam_) on Oct 13, 2020 at 10:47am PDT

While others — like Kevin and Emma McNab’s daughter Annabelle — stayed focused on very important jobs. 

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Annabelle saying hi to the ponies at @mondialdulion 💙

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Masks are part of the fashion brief at trot-ups these days, and even the ground jury aren’t exempt — but we think they pull of pandemic chic quite marvellously.

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🏇 Retour en images sur l'inspection vétérinaire d'hier : de magnifiques chevaux mais surtout de très belles tenues 🤩 🏇 Back to the images of the trot up of yesterday : beautiful horses and outfits 🤩 📸 @solene_bailly_photos #mondialdulion #eventing #horses

A post shared by Mondial du Lion (@mondialdulion) on Oct 15, 2020 at 10:39am PDT

Several British riders wore patriotic masks made by the Chalkdown Riding For The Disabled Association branch, as modelled by Tom McEwen:

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‘MHS Brown Jack’ is through the trot up for the 6 year old class @mondialdulion ! Big thank you to all at @chalkdown.rda for the fabulous team GB union flag masks – feeling very patriotic! Jack is third to go in the dressage tomorrow at 09:44 local time, everything is being live-streamed via Facebook. So you can not miss out! 🇬🇧 #TeamGreen #Devoucoux #LeMieux #HorseHealth #FreeJump #DodsonandHorrell #WTTL #NAFUK #zebraProducts #Tucciboots #FlyingChanges #KEPItalia

A post shared by Tom Mcewen (@tommceweneventing) on Oct 14, 2020 at 7:54am PDT

Spain’s Albert Hermoso Farras had the unfortunate honour of being the only hold at the first trot-up — and his relief on being accepted was palpable and infectious:

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Buenos días, ¡Check Vet ✅ @mondialdulion 🇫🇷! Ayer por la tarde pasamos la inspección veterinaria con #KeenAboutWonderlandZ y el resto del Team ESP 🇪🇸. Estamos preparados para salir a la doma el viernes a las 11:56 h. ➡️ En Facebook y Twitter teneis el enlace de las salidas a 6 años 👊🏼 📺 ‼️Recordad que podeis seguir en directo el mundial en la web: mondialdulion.com ‼️ #alberthermosofarras #alberthermoso #elsserrats #ahfeventing #ahfeventingteam #ahfontour #trotup #completoespaña #spanisheventing #eventing #mondialdulion #concourscomplet

A post shared by Albert Hermoso (@albert_hermoso) on Oct 15, 2020 at 3:15am PDT

Team Italy’s equine members got a bit of extra pampering ahead of the competition: 

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Everything is ready for tomorrow!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🇮🇹🇮🇹#eventing #equine #horse #mondialdulion #equinephisioterapy #equinechiropractic #rehab #italianteam#dressage

A post shared by annapaulon (@annapaulon) on Oct 14, 2020 at 9:53am PDT

…while other horses needed no extra help to feel good, like Caroline Powell’s firecracker Greenacres Special Cavalier, or Cavvy.

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En forme pour la visite ! Tous les chevaux sont passés @mondialdulion #horseaddict #horsepicture #horselove #equestrian #equestrians #equestrianlife #horse #horses #cheval #chevaux #cso #equitation #horseriding  #equestriansports #horseofinstagram #equine #equinephoto #cce #eventing #eventinglife #eventinghorses #eventinglive #concourscomplet #cross  #equinephotography #photographeequestre #mondialdulion #mondialdulion2020

A post shared by Solène Bailly (@solene_bailly_photos) on Oct 14, 2020 at 9:33am PDT

Oversized puppy Inchello DHI returns to Le Lion with Yaz Olsson Sanderson to try to go one better than his second place finish here last year.

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Trot up ✔️

A post shared by Yaz Olsson-Sanderson (@yazolsson) on Oct 14, 2020 at 6:33am PDT

Business lederhosen on the left, sports casual lederhosen on the right. That’s what we call versatility. 

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fit to compete 🍀🇦🇹🚀 Morgen um 9:51 und 9:58 tanzen 💃🏻 Roland und Daniel durchs Dressurviereck von le Lion d‘Angers. Die beiden sind als vierter und fünfter Starter der CCI2*, insgesamt gehen in der 6 jährigen Klasse 38 Reiter- Pferd Paare Donnerstag und Freitag Vormittag an den Start.

A post shared by eventing austria (@eventingaustria) on Oct 14, 2020 at 5:59am PDT

Find yourself a man who looks at you the way Nicolas Touzaint looks at literally any of his horses:

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Just a gal who loves a trot-up 💁🏻‍♀️ (me, not Nicolas Touzaint, that is) • #leliondangers #journoontour #mondialdulion #teamfrance #nikond500 #trotup #goeventing #fei

A post shared by Tilly Berendt (@tillyberendt) on Oct 14, 2020 at 11:47am PDT

Dutch rider Sanne de Jong has got colour coordination down to a fine art:

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Trot up 2020 style😷 #mondialdulion #eventing #knhsnederland #ruitersinoranje #kwpn #vetcheck #teamstuebben #teammountainhorse #poweredbyhavens #bavaria00eventingteam

A post shared by Sanne de Jong (@sanne__dejong) on Oct 14, 2020 at 7:10am PDT

Peter Nixon has been hard at work snapping for Horse&Hound:

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All eyes are on this weeks Eventing World Breeding Championships at Modial Du Lion #fei_global #lelionequestre #eventing #eventinglife #horses #britishequestrianfederation #britisheventing #irisheventing #frenchequestrian #germanequestrian

A post shared by Peter Nixon (@nixonphoto) on Oct 14, 2020 at 9:29pm PDT

How to social distance, a primer by Lara de Liedekerke-Meier and Kai Steffen Meier:

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Vet check ✅ @mondialdulion _________________________ @dyon_belgium ___________________________ #charmingciaco #hooneydarville #origi #mondialdulion #younghorsesworldchampionship #france #welovewhatwedo #sopretty

A post shared by Arville Sporthorses (@arvillesporthorses) on Oct 14, 2020 at 6:38am PDT

France’s Camille Lejeune unpacked his grooming kit for a photo:

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En direct du Lion d’Angers avec Dame De Coeur Tardonne et Équistro 🎊🎉

A post shared by Ecurie Lejeune (@ecurielejeune) on Oct 14, 2020 at 8:53am PDT

You can nearly smell the autumn air in this picture, right? Oliver Townend enjoys a quiet schooling session on a crisp morning:

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Cooley Rosalent had a nice day with some quiet work to get ready for her dressage test tomorrow. Check out the livestream @mondialdulion website!

A post shared by Oliver Townend Official (@olivertownendofficial) on Oct 15, 2020 at 11:49am PDT

What’s the collective noun for a group of Irish eventers?

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Great to see Plusvital Brand Ambassadors @fraser.duffy, @cds_sporthorses and @globaleventhorses looking in top shape ahead of this year's @mondialdulion 💪🐴⁠ ⁠ Good luck to all of them over the next few days competition #vitaledge #empowerperformance #mondialdulion #eventing #eventinghorses #eventinglife #equestrian #equestrianlife #sporthorses #eventrider #eventingnation #eventingireland #horsesupplements #equine #equinecare #equinenutrition #poweredbyplusvital

A post shared by Plusvital (@plusvital) on Oct 14, 2020 at 9:03am PDT

Ingrid Klimke and her team enjoy a stroll through the picturesque parkland of the hippodrome:

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Wir gehen den Weg zusammen #alsteamsindwirunschlagbar 💪🏼❤️SAVE THE DATE 🔜 Am 4. November kommt #ingridklimkedasmagazin #teamgeist #no5 ❤️ #equestrianlife #ingridklimke #teamworkmakesthedreamwork #workinprogress #werbungwegenmarkierung

A post shared by Ingrid Klimke – Das Magazin (@ingridklimke_das_magazin) on Oct 13, 2020 at 5:41am PDT

EquiRatings have made their predictions — but who’s your money on to win?

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Good luck to the GB 🇬🇧 riders competing @mondialdulion this week!🤞🏻 Posted @withregram • @equiratings MHS Brown Jack and @tommceweneventing are in the lead in the 6 YOs at @mondialdulion. Our other Ones to Watch go tomorrow. 🤞 @tom.carlile @ros_canter_eventing @olivertownendofficial Livestreaming on mondialdulion.com 👌 #equiratings #onestowatch #lelion #leliondangers #6yo #7yo

A post shared by Event Horse Owners Syndicate (@ehos_uk) on Oct 15, 2020 at 12:43pm PDT

Some serious #girlpower holding down the fort at the schooling arenas:

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#equestrianstockholm

A post shared by 𝐸𝑚𝑚𝑎 𝑀𝑐𝑁𝑎𝑏 (@em.mcnab) on Oct 15, 2020 at 2:14am PDT

“Say CHEEEEESE!” Cavvy and Jip, Caroline Powell’s head girl, show off their best angles:

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🧀

A post shared by Jip (@jipadam_) on Oct 15, 2020 at 8:26am PDT

Arena familiarisation is always best with a stunning sunset creeping in:

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Unser Sport wäre nicht möglich ohne die vielen helfenden Hände, die sich um die zwei und vierbeinigen Athleten kümmern. Füttern, putzen, waschen, spazieren gehen, grasen, filmen, mitfiebern, Füße kühlen, auch mal Mental Coach sein… Dafür möchten wir uns bedanken denn ohne Pfleger, Partner, Eltern und Sponsoren würde es einfach nicht gehen! Danke‼️ Morgen findet die zweite Hälfte der Dressur statt, also ein Tag zum erholen für unsere Athleten. Sie werden den Tag sicher gut nutzen um sich für das samstägige Gelände vorzubereiten. 🇦🇹🍀🚀

A post shared by eventing austria (@eventingaustria) on Oct 15, 2020 at 9:06am PDT

Leader of the pack: Tom McEwen throws down the gauntlet on day one. 

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Our lovely young 6 year old owned by Fred and Penny Barker has set the standard with a solid mark of 26.6! Thank you @solene_bailly_photos and @mondialdulion 🇬🇧 #TeamGreen #Devoucoux #LeMieux #HorseHealth #FreeJump #DodsonandHorrell #WTTL #NAFUK #zebraProducts #Tucciboots #FlyingChanges #KEPItalia

A post shared by Tom Mcewen (@tommceweneventing) on Oct 15, 2020 at 3:20am PDT

Brian Morrison, the saddest man in eventing, looks delighted with Global DHI’s test:

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Nice solid test from @brian_morrison_64 and Global DHI today in The World Young Horse Championship leaving them in 9th place over night. #globaleventhorses #plusvital #fedonpegus #pmequestrian #theequinewarehouse 🌎🌎🇮🇪

A post shared by Chris Hunt (@globaleventhorses) on Oct 15, 2020 at 12:23pm PDT

Kitty King struts her stuff with Monbeg Hendricks.

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Monbeg Hendricks test today. Currently in 5th place on 32.4.

A post shared by Kitty King (@kittykingeventing) on Oct 15, 2020 at 9:16am PDT

Sweden’s Aria Ramkali wastes no time in getting on course after her test:

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After my dressage test here at the Young horse eventing World Championships in Le Lion. I’m proud to announce that I am a @flyingchangesbespokejackets Ambassador. Highest quality made to measure bespoke tails as worn by Charlotte Dujardin. My beautiful tails and stock in the Swedish colours. Comfortable and stylish. “The details make the difference.” If you also want to feel special contact me for a discount code.🦁🇸🇪

A post shared by Aria Ramkali✨ (@ariaramkali) on Oct 15, 2020 at 5:21am PDT

Le Lion d’Angers: Website | Start Times and Live Scoring | Live Stream | EN’s Coverage | EN’s Instagram | EN’s Twitter

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Our lovely young 6 year old owned by Fred and Penny Barker has set the standard with a solid mark of 26.6! Thank you @solene_bailly_photos and @mondialdulion 🇬🇧 #TeamGreen #Devoucoux #LeMieux #HorseHealth #FreeJump #DodsonandHorrell #WTTL #NAFUK #zebraProducts #Tucciboots #FlyingChanges #KEPItalia

A post shared by Tom Mcewen (@tommceweneventing) on Oct 15, 2020 at 3:20am PDT

Whew. What a day, readers: a day in which two ground juries apparently found the lack of a coffee van on site as offensive as the rest of us, and proceeded to enact sweet revenge by serving up blistering scores and crushing (metaphorical) blows like gunfire. It’s been a day of placing bets as to whether you’d even see a score in the 20s; a day of watching the scoreboard between your fingers; a day of groaning and then laughing because honestly, what else can you even do at that point? We’ll say this for them, though — though the two sets of judges doled out some seriously tough marks throughout the day, leaving many horses with their worst-ever international scores, they were at least consistent with it. That’s worth a lot.

But despite an ostensibly tough morning between the boards, any assumptions of Thursday Morning Syndrome would have to be shelved when one of the day’s early combinations took a decisive lead — one that wouldn’t be usurped as the competition unfurled.

Tom McEwen and MHS Brown Jack aren’t just the day one leaders in the Six-Year-Old CCI2*-L, they’re also the only competition to break the sub-30 barrier. Their mark of 26.6 puts them over four penalties ahead of their current closest rivals, Merel Blom and Corminta Vom Gwick, and sets a mighty precedent for tomorrow’s second half of the class.

“He’s been amazing,” says Tom of Fred and Penny Barker’s Irish Sport Horse gelding (by OBOS Quality out of a Cavalier Royale mare). “Obviously he’s quite a big horse, so it’s taken a bit of time, but this year, he’s surpassed himself and become very established for a six-year-old. I’m delighted with him — he came out today and delivered the quality of work he’s been producing at home, and to be able to show that off is very exciting.”

Though today’s 26.6 doesn’t quite rival their two previous international marks — a very consistent 24.2 and 24.8 — it makes MHS Brown Jack one of the only horses across either class to score nearly bang-on his predicted mark. But this consistency hasn’t been about running him as much as possible, Tom tells EN.

“None of mine are overrun — instead, it’s about ensuring the quality of everything he does,” he explains. “You’d never bring a horse here just for the sake of going to Le Lion — they need to be ready for what they’ll face when they get here.”

That means tactical entries, measured schooling, and a healthy dose of keeping it fresh and fun for the horses — though Tom acknowledges that the loss of the main educational factor at Lion, its 35,000-strong crowds, will affect how a run here benefits some of the entrants.

“It’ll be a very different competition this year without the crowds. But some horses will benefit from that — some of them can get in front of that many people and have their brains blown a bit from it. Others won’t get quite the same experience they normally would do — but we’re lucky to be able to be here at all this year.”

Merel Blom and ‘independent woman’ Corminta Vom Gwick. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

In second place on 30.7, Dutch National Champion Merel Blom piloted the Holsteiner mare Corminta Vom Gwick, by Cormint and out of a Contendro mare, to a polished and polite test that belied the fact they’ve not yet notched up a full year in partnership.

“The test was what I expected, though it’s always hard to know what the judges would like to see,” says Merel. “It’s the first time for her in an arena like this, and I think she did a wonderful job.”

Corminta Vom Gwick’s easy temperament has helped Merel make relatively light work of the tricky 2020 season, particularly in light of the fact she only made her competitive debut in November of 2019: “She’s super willing to do everything right. Sometimes she likes to do things her own way — but most of the time, the way she wants to do it is the way I want to do it! She has character, but it’s the right character — she really wants to fight for it and try her best. I think she’s a lovely horse. She surprised me after the lockdown that even with so little experience, she went out and did a good job. With the good ones, it still came easy.”

With their qualification in the bag on their first run post-lockdown, Merel was able to strategically use the rest of the summer and early autumn to prepare the horse for precisely the challenges she’ll face this week.

50% of the top five — which features six combinations, because of a tie for overnight fifth — came forward in the first of this morning’s three sessions. Third place at this early stage is in the clutches of Germany’s Felix Etzel, who at just 27 is very much a part of his home country’s formidable line-up of young guns gaining experience at Nations Cups and in championships such as this. His Promising Pete TSF, a Trakehner gelding by Hirtentanz 2, earned a 30.8 after some quite considerable differentiation between the judges, who had him scattered from 2nd to 8th place in their individual estimations. Still, Felix was delighted with the relatively new ride, who was bought for him nearly a year ago by the DOKR — the German Federation — as a potential team horse for the future.

“He’s a really cool horse for a six-year-old,” says Felix. “He’s already done some nice dressage tests this year and he’s becoming really consistent in this phase. Today he was really easy to ride; it was like riding at home. It’s a long way for a six-year-old [to become a team horse], but I can imagine it: he’s relaxed in every phase and never wastes his energy.”

Austria’s Daniel Dunst and Della Stella SDH overcame a similar sort of widespread discrepancy, with Laure Eslan at E awarding them a 65.45% for 9th place and Sandy Phillips at C settling on a 70.23% and 2nd. Ultimately, they would average out at a respectable 32.2 penalties, giving the Austrian Warmblood mare by Follow Me a competitive early start in the competition.

Fifth place is held jointly overnight by two of the big guns in this class — though both were disappointed to receive marks considerably lower than predicted.

Kitty King and Monbeg Hendricks (GBR). Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Kitty King and Monbeg Hendricks, an Irish Sport Horse by Harlequin du Carel, were first of the two up to bat, and though there were no errors in their test and there was much to like, their marks stayed resolutely and disappointingly in the 6.5–7.5 margin, earning them an eventual 32.4. This is rather a shock score for the gelding, who hasn’t scored out of the 20s in six runs, national and international, in 2020 — but we’ve certainly seen these surprises and disappointments here before.

To watch this phase play out here is always an educational experience, because the winner isn’t always necessarily the most obviously flash dressage specialist. Often after watching for a while, it becomes clear what the judges are looking for: in a six-year-old, it may be a looser, lower, more relaxed outline, which can result in penalisation for the produced and polished youngsters that are often presented here.

Further complicating matters is the dual purposes for which riders tend to bring their young horses to France. Some make the journey to gain essential championship experience, learning to cope with crowds and atmosphere so that they can go boldly forth into their careers as the potential team horses of the future. Many others bring exciting young horses to put them in front of prospective buyers, turning the event into something of a shop window. As the saying goes, there’s more than one way to skin a cat — and so, too, is there a myriad of ways to train a young horse.

Karim Florent Laghouag and Embrun de Reno (FRA). Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Tied with Kitty for fifth is a rider who’s using this competition very much as a route to future team selections. French team stalwart Karim Florent Laghouag is looking firmly ahead to the Paris 2024 Olympics for Embrun de Reno, an impressive-looking Selle Français gelding by Eliott MC, with Jazz lines. But he, too, was disappointed with 32.4.

“He usually does lovely dressage but here he bounced his head a bit too much, and the judges saw it at first as they entered,” says Karim. “It was like they stopped on this little problem and we couldn’t get the usual marks. He’s a fantastic horse in this phase because his father brings dressage breeding while his mother is Anglo-Arab, so he has all the blood and the quality to be a perfect eventing horse.”

But, he acknowledges, like so many of his compatriots Embrun de Reno is a big horse who hasn’t finished growing into himself; this week’s competition, therefore, will be less of a benchmark for him and more of an educational effort, with everything serving as a cog in the machine heading to Paris.

William Nilsson Fryer and Joel (SWE) tackle the stretchy circle. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

It’s all too easy in these championship classes to miss out on the top spot by dint of ‘low ebb’ scores that just don’t bring the averages where they need to be to join the fight. But also easily done is the odd mistake that sends a brilliantly trending score plummeting down the rankings. It would be amiss not to mention Sweden’s William Nilsson Fryer and Joel — a Dutch Warmblood gelding by Ampere — who sit 11th overnight on 35.2. Theirs was among the most developed and professional tests of the day, and the eye-catching gelding will be closely watched through the weekend, but although they spent much of their ride trending in the lead or very close to it, the 3, 4, and 5 they earned when Joel overreacted to the reinback aids in the final quarter of the test gave their numbers a real hammering. These young horse championships aren’t the be-all and end-all of a horse’s career, despite their enormous importance, and so it’s crucial to look beyond the numbers on the page when considering which of these horses might be worth your attention. Consider Joel an EN One To Watch.

The top five at the halfway point of the Six-Year-Old World Championship’s first phase.

Sophie Leube Heads Seven-Year-Old Challenge

Sophie Leube and the impressive Trakehner stallion Sweetwaters Ziethen TSF. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Everyone here is delighted with the new addition of a surface in the main arena — particularly anyone who was here last year, and, we can assume with some confidence, none more so than Germany’s Sophie Leube. Last year, she and the licensed Trakehner stallion Sweetwaters Ziethen TSF, by Abendtanz, dazzled in the first two phases to hold onto second place throughout the competition — but the showjumping finale, held in the worst of the weather and on the worst of the ground, would push them down to eventual fifth after the gutsy stallion found himself slipping dramatically in the poor going and incurring a stop early on.

And so it’s nice to see him back in the main arena here, looking no less confident in himself than he did last year. Nor has Sophie’s confidence in him waned: when asked if she expected to go into the lead here today, her answer was a resounding and joyful “yes.”

“He’s such a performer; he’s calm but he wants to do everything right. He knows what to do in there and he tries so hard,” she enthuses. The pair scored a 27.6 to make them the only combination in the 20s in this class.

It’s hard not to be taken in by Ziethen, who is innately friendly, curious, and obviously intelligent, investigating interviewers’ notebooks and turning politely inquiring eyes on the new friends surrounding him for a chat. Taken, too, were the judges, who offered up rare 8s for his catlike walk work and the deviously tricky walk pirouettes in this three-star test.

“His walk is always really good because he has such a covering stride — but there are some things we can do better, too,” she says, pointing to the walk-canter transition as something she’d like to improve upon. It would certainly appear that they’re on the right track, though — they won their prep run, a CCI3*-S at Langenhagen, as well as CCI2*-S classes at Kronenburg and Westerstede in 2020. In eight internationals, he’s never finished outside of the top ten — so this is among the most formidable horses in the field.

Caroline Powell (NZL) and the spicy Greenacres Special Cavalier. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

New Zealand’s Caroline Powell holds onto second place provisionally with Greenacres Special Cavalier, an Irish Sport Horse mare by Cavalier Royale out of a Touchdown mare. They put a 30.6 on the board, bettering their score here last year by nearly two marks.

“She’s quite a big, long horse and just starting to connect up, but she’s going to have some lovely tests in her in the future,” says Caroline, who bought her as a just-broken four-year-old from breeder Michael Callery — ordinarily a showjumping breeder — in Ireland.

Nailing it on a tough day: Caroline Powell celebrates with Greenacres Special Cavalier. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Since then, she’s proven to be a big personality with equally colossal ability — and that’s given Caroline the breathing room to focus on her education when competitions were off the table this year.

“She’s a bit of a freak, this horse — she doesn’t really need a tonne of competition, so we’ve been able to focus on the training [during the pandemic]. She’s just getting better and better and stronger and stronger, and we’re really using this as a stepping stone for next year.”

Next year, for Caroline, could mean a bigger goal than many of the horses entered here — when I ask if she considers this mare a prospect for the 2024 Paris Games, she smiles and tells me that she could be ready much sooner than that.

“She’s a diva,” she laughs. “It’s in her name — she’s special and she knows it. She’s sassy and opinionated and she makes you work, but she’s lovely and when she goes into the arena she loves to perform. She’s a good mare — when you get a good one, you know, and when you get a bad one, you know too!”

Laura Collett and Moonlight Charmer. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Laura Collett and Irish Sport Horse Moonlight Charmer (by OBOS Quality) sit third overnight on their score of 31.4, a three-star personal best for the horse despite some minor green errors. But Moonlight Charmer, who averaged in the mid-20s at two-star, looks likely to be a new stable star for the British rider with one of the most enviable strings in the sport.

“Parts of it were really nice, and the canter work was lovely,” says Laura, “but he just sort of shut down a bit in the trot. Where it’s a bit more complicated than a two-star test he sort of over-tries a bit and gets his concentrating head on, rather than just going forward. But he’s not been in an arena like that, away from the other horses, so I’m really pleased with him.”

There’s a lot to think about for these inexperienced horses here: there are flags flapping, stands relatively full of people despite the closed-door policy this year, a technical enough test and, as Laura points out, the first experience these horses will ever have had of doing a test without the security blanket of other horses working in parallel arenas. But Moonlight Charmer’s brain has helped him overcome the varying challenges.

“He’s been pretty straightforward,” she says. “Obviously with the year we’ve had it’s been quite difficult to just get qualified for here; he didn’t do a CCI2*-L last year so it’s felt like we’ve always been chasing a qualification. But because he’s got such a good brain he’s just taken everything in his stride. He’s got the brain to come here and it doesn’t bother him that he’s been rushed — it’s just been one of those years!”

Tom Carlile and Darmagnac de Beliard. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

France’s Tom Carlile, who was based here at Le Lion until recently, is something of a maestro when it comes to this event, with almost innumerable FOD finishes for his young horses over the years. And so, despite the consistency of the low marking, it must have been a bit of a disappointment to receive a 32.9 with Selle Français gelding Darmagnac de Beliard (by Canturo Bois Margot), who’s never scored above the 20s before in an international. But in today’s judging climate this was still a score not to be sniffed at, and the rangy bay will be followed up by stablemate Spring Thyme de la Rose tomorrow as Tom makes yet another bid for the Le Lion crown. With three top five finished from three international runs, Darmagnac will certainly make an exciting claim.

Gireg le Coz and Drakkar Littoral. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Rounding out the top five is France’s Gireg le Coz, who burst into the international consciousness in 2019 with Event Rider Masters successes with the stunning Aisprit de la Loge. Today, he rode Drakkar Littoral — a Selle Français gelding by Qlassic Bois Margot, and definitive proof that Gireg has a ‘type — to a 33.5 in a test that had several bystanders eyeballing their bank accounts. But Gireg, who took the ride on at the beginning of this year and made the horse’s international debut in just July, has no plans to let go of the gelding.

“He’s a horse I’d like to keep for the Olympics in Paris,” he tells EN. “He’s a very nice horse; he moves well and he was very calm — sometimes he can be a bit hot, so I’m happy with him today. The judges aren’t giving very good marks today, but that’s okay — I’m happy with the horse and sure that he can do better.”

Gireg’s enthusiasm when talking about the horse is infectious — and only rivalled by the horse’s own enthusiasm for the sport.

“He’s a very good horse in all three tests. He loves cross-country — a bit too much! — but he’s a very nice horse and loves what he does,” he says with a broad smile.

The top five at the halfway point of the seven-year-old CCI3*-L.

The World Breeding Championships is as much a fight for individual glory as it is a quest for studbook superiority. At this early stage of the competition, the Irish Sport Horse studbook is in an enviable position: not only can they claim the leader of one of the classes in Tom McEwen’s MHS Brown Jack, they’ve also got another in the top five in the six-year-olds (Kitty King’s Monbeg Hendricks) and two in the seven-year-old top ten (Laura Collett’s Moonlight Charmer and Caroline Powell’s Greenacres Special Cavalier).  The Selle Français studbook — last year’s overall winner — features three times across the two top fives (Drakkar Littoral, Darmagnac de Beliard, and Embrun de Reno), while the Trakehner features twice (Sweetwaters Ziethen TSF and Promising Pete TSF).

Tomorrow we’ll dive straight into the second halves of both classes, with some strong contenders coming forward in each. In the six-year-old class (starting at 9.30 local time/8.30 BST/3.30 a.m. Eastern) we’ll be keeping an eye on Cathal Daniels‘ LEB Empress, Ingrid Klimke‘s Cascamara, Oliver Townend‘s Cooley Rosalent, and Sophie Leube‘s Isselhook’s First Sight TSF, while our tips for the seven-year-old class, starting at 14.00 local/13.00 BST/8.00 a.m. Eastern, are Ros Canter‘s Izilot DHI, Nicolas Touzaint‘s Diabolo Menthe, Kai Steffen Meier‘s Charming Chiaco, Tom Carlile‘s Spring Thyme de la Rose and, of course, last year’s six-year-old runners-up, Yasmin Olsson Sanderson and Inchello DHI.

We’ll be back with the full debrief tomorrow. Until then: Go Eventing!

Le Lion d’Angers: Website | Start Times and Live Scoring | Live Stream | EN’s Coverage | EN’s Instagram | EN’s Twitter

Baby horses gonna baby horse: Lara de Liedekerke-Meier’s Origi hangs out with his tiger before his trot-up. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Bienvenue à Le Lion d’Angers! Though the FEI World Breeding Championships for Young Horses has a slightly different feel to it this year, as it’s being run behind closed doors, the excitement and expectation is still high here in France’s Loire Valley. After a season of not much at all, we’ve finally come to our first — and indeed only — major championship of 2020, and our competitors will have a big week ahead of them as they battle to overcome a sparsity of runs with these six- and seven-year-old horses.

Though it’s sad not to see Le Lion’s usual enormous crowds, which provide an incredible atmosphere in ordinary circumstances, there are some new developments here that are so exciting. Chiefly, the installation of a proper surface in the main arena, which was vocally campaigned for by riders after torrential weather last year saw the playing field deteriorate into an almost unusable quagmire. It’ll be exciting to see how this new addition changes things for these exciting, talented, but still very green horses.

Ros Canter’s Izilot DHI gives the ground jury as thorough of an inspection as they give him. Rhian Smith (GBR) and Irene Leva. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

But first, the trot-up — and though it was masked up as expected, it felt delightfully normal to be back in the capacious concrete stables of Le Lion to get a first glimpse of these young horses. Starting the afternoon’s proceedings, 37 combinations presented for the Six-Year-Old CCI2*-L first horse inspection ahead of ground jury members Sandy Phillips (GBR), Laure Eslan (FRA), and Gerd Kuest (GER) after a brief announcement to all assembled to “think of unconditional love — and spread it around. The world needs it right now.” Don’t threaten us with a good time.

Albert Hermoso Farras and Keenabout Wonderland Z inspire a moment of drama in the first horse inspection. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

There would be just one moment of tension through the proceedings when Albert Hermoso Farras‘s Keenabout Wonderland Z was sent to the hold box, though ultimately the Zangersheide mare by Kannan was accepted after what felt like an achingly long period of deliberation.

An extraordinary 19 nations are represented at Le Lion this week, though none embraced their heritage quite so fully at today’s trot-up as the Austrians. Both Daniel Dunst, who brought forward Austrian Warmblood mare Della Stella SDH and Roland Pulsinger, presenting Holsteiner stallion Tiefenhof’s Lavalino, opted for some truly festive lederhosen, though Daniel embraced a sort of sports-casual hosen get-up, while Roland went full Oktoberfest. Any lederhosen’s a good lederhosen, if you ask us.

Over in the Seven-Year-Olds, both the outfits and the goings-on were much less dramatic: there were no lederhosen whatsoever, and none of the 43 presented horses was sent to the hold box throughout the inspection, which took place under the watchful eye of ground jury members Gerd Kuest (GER), Judy Hancock (GBR), and Ciska van Meggelen (NED).

Dressage gets underway tomorrow morning with the first half of the six-year-olds taking to the main arena from 9.30 a.m. local time/8.30 a.m. BST/3.30 a.m. Eastern. They’ll be followed by half the seven-year-olds after the lunchbreak from 14.00 local/13.00 BST/8.00 a.m. Eastern. You can find times for the six-year-old CCI2*-L here, and times for the seven-year-old CCI3*-L here.

So who should you be keeping an eye on tomorrow? In the six-year-old class, Felix Etzel‘s Trakehener Promising Pete TSF, Tom McEwen‘s MHS Brown Jack, Kitty King‘s Monbeg Hendricks, and Merel Blom‘s Corminta Vom Gwick will be very much on our radar in the morning, while the afternoon will be tough to call: look to Sophie Leube‘s Sweetwaters Ziethen TSF, Laura Collett‘s Moonlight Charmer, Tom Carlile‘s Darmagnac de Beliard and Cathal Daniels‘ Shannondale Mari to shake things up from the get-go.

And now, onto the important stuff: the photos!

Go Eventing.

The Six-Year-Olds in Pictures:

The Seven-Year-Olds in Pictures:

Le Lion d’Angers: Website | Start Times and Live Scoring | Live Stream | EN’s Coverage | EN’s Instagram | EN’s Twitter