Oliver Townend showed he has another exciting grey five-star prospect in his string as En Taro Des Vernier stepped up to deliver a sub-30 dressage on his first attempt at this level at Pau Horse Trials today (Thursday).
Oliver and the 10-year-old, by the late, great eventing stallion Upsilon, ended the opening day of dressage at Pau Horse Trials in provisional third place on a score of 29.4.
The gelding, who is owned by Sir John and Victoria Peace, is one of three rides on Oliver’s card at this year’s French five-star, with Crazy Du Loir and Kentucky winner Cooley Rosalent to start their Pau campaigns tomorrow (Friday).
“He’s got a nice brain and I think he’s a good horse for the future,” said Oliver, fresh from Maryland 5 Star victory with Ballaghmor Class, adding that he was pleased with En Taro Des Vernier’s dressage performance.
“He’s a character. He pretends he’s fizzy and hot, but he’s lazy and cold at the same time, so you can very easily be made to look a monkey by him. But he loves his job and he’s always got his ears pricked. He’s a bit of a playboy – for example, if you do medium canter without a buck, that’s a win.
“He has a great attitude, loves his cross-country and has jumped to a decent level.
“We’ve only had him for two and a half years, and we’re happy with his progression so far.”
It’s been a solid opening day for the Brits. Former Pau winner Tom McEwen heads the provisional standings after day one with Brookfield Quality (25.8), and seven British combinations feature in the top 10 at this stage.
Fiona Cashel and her own 16-year-old Creevagh Silver De Haar produced a five-star personal best of 29.7 to hold provisional fifth.
“He just tries so hard for me – he’s an absolute gem. We used to get 35s the whole time, and he’s just got better with age,” said Fiona, crediting trainer Damien Hallam for the improvement.
She explained that it has also been a case of “being brave enough” to resist the temptation to do too much at an event.
“The less I work him, the better he is. I did work him properly yesterday, but today I haven’t been on him,” she said. “He’s just grazed and he’s so easy, bless him, he just comes out and does his thing.”
Kirsty Chabert and Classic VI are within touching distance of the leaders in sixth (30), while Isabel White and Icarus made a smart first five-star appearance to hold eighth on 30.9.
Tom Rowland and KND Steel Pulse are in ninth place after day one; judges rewarded their tidy performance with a score of 31.5.
“It does just show that if you can pull off a mistake-free test, it’s worth a lot,” said Tom.
Reigning Pau champion Ros Canter, who scooped the 2023 title with Izilot DHI, rounds off the top 10 at this stage with the first of her two rides, MHS Seventeen (31.7).
“I was chuffed to bits with him,” said Ros, adding that this is the 11-year-old Callahan gelding’s first CCI5* and only his third long-format event.
“He definitely got a bit of stage fright, bless him. He’s pretty green, and he’s got a bit of a suspicious streak. So he went in and every corner he had his handbrake on, and he needed me to hold his hand quite a lot. But there’s so much more to come.
“We’re only just scratching the surface of what he’s going to be capable of.”
The remaining places within the top 10 are held by New Zealand’s Clarke Johnstone and Menloe Park (second on 26.1), USA’s Boyd Martin riding Fedarman B (fourth on 29.5) and Belgium’s Wouter De Cleene with Quintera (seventh on 30.4).
Day two of Pau Horse Trials dressage starts at 8am UK time (9am local time) tomorrow (Friday).
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