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Oct 23, 2020
Great Britain Takes the Lead in the Dressage Competition at Les 5 Étoiles de Pau
The world’s top riders and their mounts are all at the Domaine de Sers in Pau, Southwest France until this Sunday to battle it out in the five-star, the highest level of eventing competition in equestrian sport. The first phase of the competition, dressage, ended with the victory of British rider Laura Collett on her mount London 52 (Landos x Vernante), her own, Keith Scott, and Karen Bartlett's 11-year-old Holstiner gelding.
Australian Christopher Burton was in the lead of the provisional ranking yesterday evening with Jill Martin and David Webster's 15-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Graf Liberty (Limmerick x Lisheen Star) on a score of 22.0, but in the end, it was the 2015 Young Horses World Champion, Collett, who won the competition this morning. She finishes the event with 21.3 penalty points. Collett is currently 49th in the world rankings, but she also took 10th place in the event with Mr Bass (Carrico x K-Jeunesse), her own, Nick How, and Keith Scott's 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding, on a score of 26.2.
Close behind, Burton and Piggy March remain in second and third place, respectively. Although six of the 10 top scores were taken by British riders, Tim Price (NZL), who ranks second in the world, took fourth place with a dressage score of 23.0 penalty points with Wesko (Karandasj x Kolien), his own and the Windrush Equestrian Foundation's 17-year-old KWPN gelding. German rider Christopher Wahler also made it to the top 10 with Carjatan S (Clearway x Kajenna), his own and Lena Thoenies's 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding. The last French rider to take off this morning, Maxime Livio scored 32.4 penalty points to stand in 31st place.
"I am very happy with both my horses!" commented Collett at the completion of dressage. "This is the first CCI5* eventing competition for London 52. He was a bit nervous when he entered the track but then he was well focused throughout the test! Of course, the event is not over yet and the cross-country tomorrow will undoubtedly shake up the ranking, but I have confidence in my horses. Mr Bass is experienced at this level of competition and is a very good cross-country horse. London is less experienced but he is in great shape this weekend and I can't wait to see how he will perform tomorrow! We are very lucky to be here this weekend and I am very happy to be able to compete with these two outstanding horses."
Tomorrow's event will be the breathtaking cross-country competition. Horse and rider will set off on the 6.3-kilometer course, with an array of 31 impressive natural obstacles. An event which promises many twists and turns in the rankings and a good dose of adrenaline for the public!
Full results are available here. The live stream can be accessed here.
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“Happy Horse Equals Happy Judge”: Ask An Expert with Dressage Judge Peter Gray, Brought to You by Ride iQ
Ride iQ’s popular “Ask An Expert” series features professional advice and tips from all areas of the horse industry. One of the most-downloaded episodes is an expert session with Peter Gray, an accomplished dressage judge and Olympic eventer. He has recently judged at events like the five-star at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, and he served on the ground jury at the 2022 FEI World Eventing Championships in Pratoni, Italy. His background as a competitor in the Olympic Games riding for Bermuda and as a coach and selector for the Canadian eventing team adds depth to his understanding of the sport.
