Clark Montgomery Withdraws Universe Before Dressage at Pau

Clark Montgomery and Universe at Pau last year. Photo by Jenni Autry. Clark Montgomery and Universe at Pau last year. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Clark Montgomery has withdrawn Universe before dressage at Pau after an ultrasound showed a mild case of tendonitis in one of the horse’s legs, he explained on his Facebook page.

“Not the news I wanted to report, but my super groom Karen (Hughes) noticed a slight change in one of Buzz’s legs after his prep ride mid morning,” Clark said. “They were able to ultrasound it immediately and found mild tendonitis. Although it’s terrible timing to have something like this come up, we are thankful to have caught it before he ran.”

Thank goodness for the wonderful grooms in this sport who know every inch of the horses in their charge. Though it’s not the way Clark hoped to end his season, the good news is Universe will be fine after some time off.

Clark competed at Pau for the first time last year with Universe, adding just two show jumping rails to his dressage score to finish in 10th place on a score of 60. FEI TV interviewed Clark at the first horse inspection on Wednesday: “We’re here to have a good go,” he said. “I haven’t had the greatest go all year, so hopefully we can end it with a bang — a good bang.”

After the success at Pau last year, Clark and Buzz have struggled a bit this season, finishing 15th in the CIC3* at Belton in April only to retire at Badminton and fall at Bramham. He withdrew from Barbury CIC3* in July when the footing was a bit firm, and Pau was meant to be their comeback tour.

“He’s a spunky little horse, Universe is,” Clark told FEI TV. “Dressage wouldn’t be his best phase, but he’s getting better, so fingers crossed he stays calm on Friday. He’s just a fantastic jumper. He absolutely loves cross country, so I think that’s probably his most favorite phase. But he’s a good show jumper too, so he should finish well.”

The second day of dressage is just about to conclude. We’ll be back with a full report later in the morning. Click here for live scores and here to watch the free live stream of dressage.

#Pau2014: WebsiteEntries,Dressage TimesLive ScoresFree Live StreamEN’s CoverageUSEF Eventing High Performance Facebook@LesEtoilesdePau

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments