Joseph Murphy and Sportsfield Othello at Pau 2018. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Ireland’s Joseph Murphy and his longtime partner Sportsfield Othello are the old pros of the 2018 Pau field. This is their fourth crack at the event together, having finished 27th in 2011, 5th in 2014, and 24th in 2016 with a hat trick of clear cross country rounds. Coincidentally they picked up the exact same number of time penalties — 2.4 — in 2011 and 2014, and 5.6 in 2016.
On other horses, Joseph finished 5th in 2015, and 8th and 41st in 2013. All total, in six trips around the course, Joseph has had just 20 jump and 18 time penalties. He’ll add two more tours of the course to his résumé tomorrow when he tackles the track once more with Sportsfield Othello (“Franky”), now 17-years-young with more stars in his crown than we can count, as well as four-star first-timer Fernhill Frankie.
Joseph Murphy and Sportsfield Othello at Pau 2018. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Clearly Joseph has a handle on navigating Pau swiftly and successfully, and he’s been much sought after for course advice this week — you can have a virtual wander around Pierre Michelet’s track with him and Nick Turner via Cross Country App here. You can also take some tips in person stateside next month, as he’ll be teaching a cross country clinic on Nov. 5-7 at Boyd Martin’s Windurra USA in Cochranville, Pennsylvania. Click here for details.
To tide us over until the action begins tomorrow, take a spin around the 2016 course with Joseph and Franky.
What a partnership, and what a tremendous run this pair has enjoyed together over the past decade. Here’s to safe, happy trips for all tomorrow! Go Eventing.
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