Strong performances on Pau Horse Trials cross-country day today (29 October) paid dividends for those riders who posted quick clear rounds.
New Zealand’s Jonelle Price was one of the riders who came to the fore. She moved up from 13th after dressage on a score of 30.1 and added just 1.2 time-faults, finishing three seconds over the 11-minute optimum time with Grappa Nera, to now sit in second.
“Of course, I would have loved to have finished three seconds faster, but she’s come back from a little injury break,” explained Jonelle of her round with this 11-year-old mare, who she co-owns alongside the Grape Syndicate. “She’s a really classy, athletic mare and I thought she’d cope well with the windy, twisty nature of the course here. She didn’t let me down.”
Jonelle said that it wasn’t necessarily the fences on the Pau Horse Trials cross-country course that made her scratch her head.
“I think the question for me all the way through wasn’t the fences but the distances as they were on forward strides, so riders had to make the right decisions.”
Speaking of Grappa Nera’s career to-date, Jonelle said: “She went to Kentucky to do her first five-star last spring and she was great, then she had a little injury before Bicton five-star last autumn so we took our time. I had her on the radar for the World Championships last month and if I didn’t take her there, Pau was always the plan and it’s worked out well.”
Jonelle is just 0.7 of a penalty adrift of cross-country leaders David Doel and Galileo Nieuwmoed.
France’s Karim Florent Laghouag posted one of four clear rounds inside the optimum time to rise from 19th after dressage to third with Triton Fontaine. They remain on their 31.4 dressage score.
“He is an amazing horse and he gave me a great ride – he could go around six-star if they existed,” said Karim of the horse who finished 12th individually at the Tokyo Olympic Games last year.
Japan’s Kazuma Tomato, who is based with William Fox-Pitt, has risen two places into fourth with Brookpark Vicente, despite collecting 6.4 time faults.
British rider Hector Payne had a great round with the 14-year-old Dynasty, picking up 1.2 time faults to rise from 16th after dressage to sit in fifth going into the final phase.
Izzy Taylor, second after dressage with Monkeying Around, retired after two refusals at fence 9B, while Tom McEwen’s round with third-placed Bob Chaplin came to an end when he retired after two run outs at fence 4B. Mollie Summerland, fourth after the first phase, dropped to 15th after Charly Van Ter Heiden activated a frangible device at fence 21B.
Just 7.8 penalties separate the top 10 ahead of the showjumping.
The final horse inspection gets underway tomorrow at 12.30pm.
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