Pau Horse Trials, more correctly known as Les Etoiles de Pau CCI5*, is the only five-star event in France. It takes place in late October and marks the end of the European eventing season at five-star level. It is a popular choice for British event riders, as this year’s Pau Horse Trials entries show.
Pau is a beautiful town on the northern edge of the Pyrenees in the south of France, complete with a castle. There are many good restaurants in the old town.
The competition takes place on a racehorse training facility close to the town. Riders competing at the event have set times when they are allowed to exercise in certain areas in order not to interfere with the racehorses.
The area is quite flat and Rio Olympics course-designer Pierre Michelet makes the most of man-made mounds to make the cross-country course more interesting and challenging for horse and rider.
Pau Horse Trials has been running at five-star (formerly four-star) level since 2007. The first winner of the top-level class at Pau was the home side’s Nicolas Touzaint, on Hildago De L’Ile.
William Fox-Pitt (2011, 2013) and Tim Price (2021, 2025) are the only riders who have won Pau five-star twice. The five-star event’s British winners also include Tom McEwen (Toledo De Kerser) in 2019, Laura Collett (London 52) in 2020, Ros Canter (Izilot DHI) in 2023 and Caroline Harris (D.Day) in 2024.
In 2020, Pau hosted the only five-star of the season as the other events were all cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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