Leslie Law will ride his Olympic gold medal partner Shear L’Eau in the British team for the FEI Blenheim Petplan European Eventing Championships, following a minor injury to his planned ride Coup de Coeur.
“It is a shame Coup de Coeur is not going [to Blenheim],” Leslie told HHO. “I only took over the ride 12 months ago and he is an exciting prospect. He finished third at Lexington this spring, which was his first four-star three-day event.
“Having said that I am extremely lucky to be able to replace him with the horse I won a gold medal on.”
Coup de Coeur will under go further veterinary investigation to establish the type and extent of his injury. Shear L’Eau was due to compete at Burghley, but has now been withdrawn.
“Shear L’Eau is a very different character to Coup de Coeur,” explains Leslie, “Shear L’Eau is much more on the ball. Coup de Coeur is a little more laid back, while Shear L’Eau doesn’t miss a trick.”
Shear L’Eau’s final run before the Europeans was in the British Open Championships at Gatcombe at the beginning of August where the 13yo finished fourth. The grey gelding appears to have fully recovered from his fall at the Vicarage Vee at Badminton in the spring and looks on form for a good performance at Blenheim.
