The Etoiles de Pau Horse Trials five-star cross-country course for 2025 is designed, as usual, by Pierre Michelet, 76, who comes down to the south of France fresh from Le Lion D’Angers the previous weekend.

The competitors are expecting to face 30 numbered fences, with a maximum of 48 jumping efforts over a distance of 6,320m. The course has an optimum time of 11min 6sec, a touch shorter than last year’s 6,500m (11min 25sec) track – though that ended up being significantly reduced due to downpours affecting the going.

The course is set around a racecourse and is largely flat, but Pierre has made the most of the manmade mounds that add terrain, and there are four water combinations which will also slow horses down.

Key fences on Pau Horse Trials cross-country

Fence 4ab – The “Kiosques”

The first combination, featuring a small log with a decent drop, running downhill to a choice of angled brushes featuring the Pau town shields. Most riders will take the quicker right-hand route, while the drop is a harbinger of a later fence. It shouldn’t cause problems, but will just ensure horses are listening and straight.

Fence 8ab – Log and corner

Pierre has been fairly lenient with this first water combination. Horses have the chance to get their feet wet, cantering into and for a few strides through the water, before jumping the log to the narrow brush corner in this lake. Although you need to hug the right-hand bank on entry, there is a clear, almost straight, line from one fence to the next and this should build confidence before the harder watery tests to come.

A loop on dry land follows, where competitors jump a straightforward roll-top style fence through a Flex-On style ring, before heading back to the same water for a beefier challenge.

Fence 10abc – second water combination

Horses approach the water again over a wide box fence with brush, which will require plenty of oomph while the horses might be backing off knowing there is water lurking at some point below. In fact, they have a few strides on dry land, curving left-handed over the carved swan hedge in the water which is set on an angle to a step up only a stride away.

Those without sufficient control for the required accuracy and neatness can take the middle hedge a little straighter, canter a few strides and angle round to another swan hedge.

Strategically placed bushes and flowerpots mean neither route is straightforward.

Fence 16ab – “Coffin”

The fence name “coffin” is confusing to British spectators as it doesn’t resemble the rail, ditch, rail style combination we might expect to see. Instead, echoes of Blenheim’s “rollercoaster” fences, with two mounds topped with narrow logpiles, requiring excellent balance and control to pop the first element without landing far below, negotiating down and uphill smoothly and staying straight and with enough energy for the second. The hills are a lot steeper than they look here!

Fence 20 – Open ditch and brush

This brush looks innocuous on the approach – featuring on the racecourse section and blending in well with the many steeplechase fences scattered around. However, this is Pau’s version of Burghley’s Cottesmore Leap, with a gaping ditch toward. The kind brush ground line and inviting profile should give riders a great feel – and a super photo – as they fly over.

This standalone fence marks the start of an intense patch, with three demanding combinations in a row.

Fence 21abcd – Triple brushes and corners

There are two routes through this third water complex. The most direct way is over 21ab, a triple brush directly into water, curving left-handed to a corner (c), and then left-handed again to a triple brush (d). They are all slightly offset, so accuracy at these narrow fences will be paramount.

The longer route avoids jumping in the water itself, tackling a triple brush (a), splashing through and a long way round to a corner (bc), and another long loop to a triple brush (d).

Fence 22ab – “Oops”

The aptly named “Oops” is reminiscent of Burghley’s leaf pit, with a huge drop on falling ground, targeting a brush skinny to the left. For those who can’t gather up their knitting, they can turn right for an easier triple brush set on rising ground, but it’s against the direction of travel and will be costly on time.

Fence 23abc and 24 – fourth water complex

Pierre has set a teaser at this final water combination, as it is numbered so that riders cannot switch to a different route halfway through. The shorter route is over a log drop (a) into the water, keep the horse’s eyes off the house directly in front and instead bend sharp left to a step up (bc) and straight over the upright angled brush at fence 24. Or you jump a narrow house fence (ab) and canter into the water, over another house (c), and then have to thread your way back to the brush, which is separately numbered.

Fence 27abcd – Houses

Four from home, and the finishing line is so nearly in sight, but there’s still one combination which might invite a fly-by.

Pierre has again used the mounds tactically, as horses won’t know until they have taken off at the first house (a) how steeply the ground falls away on landing. They then need to turn right as they go down the hill to an angled house (bc), and stay firmly on their line to another angled house (d).

There are smaller, straightforward, time-consuming alternatives here to help horses complete.

Thanks to Storm Benjamin, the trot-up has been pushed back to 5pm (4pm British time) on Thursday with all the dressage taking place on Friday, starting at 9am (8am British time).

The Pau Horse Trials cross-country phase takes place on Saturday, 25 October, scheduled to start at 11.30am (10.30am British time).

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Frangible cross-country devices were the topic of debate after the five-star Pau Horse Trials cross-country phase on Saturday (29 October), when nine riders activated the MIMClip on fence 21B.

The riders who picked up 11 penalties at 21b, a corner on a curving stride from a log/drop into the third water complex, included dressage leader Felix Vogg (Colero). There were also three British competitors – Mollie Summerland (Charly Van Ter Heiden), Aaron Miller (KEC Deakon) and David Doel on his first horse Ferro Point.

The subject became a talking point among riders as some considered they had not hit the fence hard enough for it to warrant collapsing, though undoubtedly there were some cases where the device saved falls. Some called for the reintroduction of an appeal system, whereby the ground jury assesses whether the 11 penalties given for a broken frangible device could be removed if they feel the horse was not at risk of falling.

The activation was especially expensive for Felix Vogg, who was in the lead going into the cross-country, and finished the event in 17th place.

After the competition had finished, Felix said: “I’m totally with it that the sport has to get safer for riders and horses, and it’s good that there is progress in it. But there is not enough research at the moment – we just take a system and penalise the riders if they activate it – it doesn’t matter how many horses touched it before.

“At every event we have frustrated riders, owners and so on because of MIMclips which shouldn’t have been activated.

“So now the questions: was that fence so dangerous? Do we have such bad riders at five-star level? What are the riders doing wrong so they couldn’t jump the fence clean? Is it the wrong system? Or is it the wrong fence in the wrong place? Or maybe something else?

“Is it possible that a safety system has become a reason for worries, problems and a strategic system to influence the final result of the cross-country when it should only protect horse and rider?

“The time should be finished where riders have to look back across country to see if a fence has fallen.”

Course-designer Pierre Michelet said: “Safety is paramount, so it’s one of those things and riders have to ride with that in mind. Some incidents today with the MIMclips did prevent serious falls, whereas others were more like a fence going down in the showjumping and those riders were harshly sanctioned by the 11 penalties.”

The Pau Horse Trials cross-country proved influential but without any serious falls. Four riders finished clear inside the 11-minute optimum time from 47 starters (8.5%). These were David Doel on Galileo Nieuwmoed, who finished in eventual fourth, Karim Florent Laghouag and Triton Fontaine, who were second, Maxime Livio with Carouzo Bois Marotin (seventh) and Luc Chateau on Viens Du Mont (ninth).

In total, 21 combinations finished clear but with time-faults (44.7% of the field) and 38 of the 47 starters completed (80.9%).

• What are your views about MIMClips and the penalties associated within them in FEI eventing? Let us know your thoughts by emailing hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county.

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Riders have been giving their reactions to the Pau Horse Trials cross-country course, designed by Pierre Michelet.

Cross-country day kicks off at 1pm (12pm British time) today (29 October).

Tom McEwen says: “There’s a lot of decisions to be made. I think you need to be quite quick to decide what to do based on how things going during your round.

“There’s a lot of similar-ish combinations going in different directions so if you don’t get one right, you might have to change your plan.”

Tom is in third and ninth place on Bob Chaplin and Braveheart B respectively after the first phase at Pau.

“I think the first water is quite nice to get us going because obviously we’re quite used to the waters being pretty hefty. I actually think fence four A and B [the Kiosque & pointe de la Ville de Pau] is a tough enough ask – Pierre Michelet always asks a very early decent question in the courses that he builds.”

Fellow Brit, Izzy Taylor, who is in second place after the dressage on Monkeying Around, says that there is “lots to do”.

“I imagine the time will be tight and it will be very easy for us to have an irritating 20 penalties for doing very little wrong,” explains Izzy. “You’ve got to be on it all the way. And, as we know, the fourth last combination always causes trouble, so you’re not home – as I demonstrated last year when I had a fall there – until you’re home.”

Harry Meade, who is in 11th with Tenareze after an impressive first phase performance says that he thinks the course is “really interesting”.

“Pierre Michelet is an extremely interesting course designer,“ he explains. “There’s a lot of questions. There’s a lot of places where you can have tricky little errors, but Pierre has given us choices between going on three or four strides on a repetitive basis throughout the course.

“There’s lots of places you can have a glance off and riders are going to have to concentrate the whole way. It’s obviously not the big, imposing, bold type of course like Burghley, but it’s technically difficult, and you can’t relax until you’ve landed over the last fence.”

Emily King, who is riding Valmy Biats, who scored a competitive 25.5 in the dressage to sit in fifth going into Pau Horse Trials cross-country day, also shared her thoughts on this year’s track.

“I haven’t walked it and felt sick like I have done in the past at Burghley or Badminton, which is nice, but there are so many places for really annoying things to happen – this is a rider accuracy course,” she explains. “If you ride your lines perfectly and your horse is genuine, you should be fine, and then it’ll just be about achieving the optimum time.”

British talent Mollie Summerland is in fourth after the first phase with Charly Van Her Heiden, and will be one of the last riders to take on Pierre Michelet’s course this afternoon.

“There’s plenty of places you can have a run out so riders definitely need to be concentrating the whole way around, but it’s a good track,” she says. “It should suit horses that riders have a really good partnership with.”

Overnight leader, Swiss rider Felix Vogg, says that the cross-country course is “tough enough”.

“There’s some challenging stuff and plenty of combinations, so riders will need to be on it. It’s going to be hard for our brains and the horses’ brains too.”

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Want to walk the Rio Olympics cross-country course but your bank account wouldn’t quite allow for the airfare to Brazil? No problem! Our fence by fence pictures are the next best thing to taking a stroll around the Deodoro venue yourself.

The track has been designed by France’s Pierre Michelet and in line with the rules for the the modified four-star format used at the Olympics the optimum time will be between 10 and 11 minutes.

The Olympic eventing starts on Saturday (6 August) with two days of dressage. The cross-country takes place on Monday (8 August) with the final showjumping on Tuesday (9 August). Swat up on the format here.

Fence 1: Copacabana Flower Bed

Fence 2: Arch Of Lapa

Fence 3: Picnic Table

Fence 4abcd: Botanical Garden

Fence a

Fence 4bc

Alternative fence 4c

Back of alternative fence c

Fence d

Fence 5: Pine Wood Ramp

Fence 6ab: Corners Question

Fence 7: Burghley Fence

Fence 8abc/9: Sugar Loaf

Fence 8ab

Fence 8c

Fence 9

Fence 10: Bamboo Keyhole

Fence 11ab/12: Pan Am Wall Combination

Fence 11a

Fence 11b

Fence 12

Fence 13: Amazonian Log

Fence 14ab: Narrows Wood Piles

Fence 14a

Fence 14b

Fence 15: Log Pile And Ditch

Fence 16abc: Old Water Complex

Fence 16a

Fence 16b

Fence 16c

Fence 17: Palm Tree Question

Fence 17a

Fence 17b

Fence 18: Flower Box

Fence 19/20ab: Ski Jump

Fence 19

Fence 20ab

Fence 21: Wood Pile Launch

Fence 22: White Oxer

Fence 23/24: Malmesbury Cottage

Quick route over fence 23

Slow route over fence 23

Fence 24

Fence 25ab: Web Water Jump

Fence 25a

Fence 25b

Fence 26: Bamboo Vertical

Continued below…

Related articles:

• Beginner’s guide to Olympic eventing
• Who will compete in the eventing at the Games?
• Timetable and how to follow the Olympics

Fence 27: Fruit Wagon

Fence 28/29ab/30: Fisherman’s Lake

Fence 28

Fence 29ab

Fence 30

Fence 31: Knowledge Bridge

Fence 32: Brush Fence

Fence 33: Sambodromo

Full report of the Olympic eventing from Rio in H&H next week, out on Friday, 12 August. H&H is published on Friday instead of Thursday next week to allow us to report the full eventing from the Games.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Although I am biased because I’m involved with the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials, I don’t know anybody who wasn’t glad to get out of France after the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) and into the polite, efficient atmosphere of Britain’s autumn four-star.

Last week Mark Todd was eloquent on how “WEG failed to deliver”.

Having been at championships as a competitor and coach for the past 40 years, it was not all bad. But as a spectator or owner it probably surpassed 1994 at The Hague as the worst ever WEG, with the problems with traffic, loos and food queues.

I’ve been to many wonderful events in France and at Haras du Pin. I’m not sure what it is about WEG that makes the normal good organisation disintegrate. Maybe it has something to do with the FEI!

Inconsistent rules

The one thing the FEI should have learned at WEG is never to let your lawyers talk to the coaches.

We were lectured about how athletes’ sponsors could not be on clothing nor could there be national flags on horse ear covers for dressage. When I showed a picture from grand prix dressage the day before with a flag, the answer was: “It’s not allowed”. So I said: “What are you doing about it?” Answer: “It’s not allowed”. My answer: “Well, if you are doing nothing about it, then it must be allowed.”

We had riders taping over logo signs like a patchwork quilt, despite the word of the lawyer not matching the rules on the FEI website.

Was the going acceptable?

We knew there would be hills across country and it was no surprise that 18 of Pierre Michelet’s 42 fences were a skinny or an angle. The fact that nearly 50% of the fences had a brush component had many course-designers sucking their teeth. But the course had many great attributes.

The only place Pierre totally missed was the last water. The step was too big and the skinny fish did not focus the horses’ attention.

Like Mark Todd, I heard about the €1million spend on the footing, but you couldn’t see where it had gone, save a few causeways with a drainage pipe underneath them.

After cross-country, many riders said for a four-star championship the ground was unacceptable.

On a personal note, I was proud of my daughter Zara. She may not be 100% fit, but she sure showed up on the day.

Also, I was sorry for William Fox-Pitt. His bronze was fantastic, but we have to admit that Sandra Auffarth’s Opgun Louvo was the class act and that Michael Jung is a genius, the likes of which we have not seen before in the sport.

The Burghley time

At Burghley, the big surprise was that the cross-country time was unachievable.

Neither I nor technical delegate Philip Surl cheated on the measurement and no riders complained after wheeling it.

Watching the TV, a typical percentage of riders were 15-20sec down at the Land Rover Dairy Farm. Normally riders are able to make the time up between the Land Rover Dairy Farm (7min) and the Anniversary Splash (10min).

This year, that fastest part of the course was taking a 2in cut in the turf, so riders were not able to make that time back. Then they lost another 10sec at the Lion Bridge.

For me, that put too much pressure on the clock and therefore on the riders. I’d like to see the best finishing with the horses’ ears pricked. As it was, everyone was under pressure and using hands and heels to get home as soon as possible. This year’s Burghley, Badminton and WEG have all emphasised the importance of good footing if the riders are to produce a good picture.

So why was the time so impossible? The footing down from Cottesmore Leap to Capabilities was one factor, the “stop-go” riding from so many was another.

Riders forget at the Land Rover Trout Hatchery and the Dairy Farm how tiring it is for the horse if you come back to zero and then have to accelerate back up to 600mpm.

Finally, no one predicted that the arena fences (part B pictured top) would be the most influential test. They were not difficult if riders gave horses time to understand the question.

Mark’s column was first published in Horse & Hound (11 September, 2014)

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Designing a World Equestrian Games (WEG) cross-country track is difficult. You have to cater to the best in the world and those stepping up a level. Also, the course needs to work in the best conditions and the worst.

Pierre Michelet is an excellent course-designer and I’m sure with hindsight he might do some things differently now. As designers, we are our own biggest critics. I watch horses, how they are travelling, how they look and their expressions — even if they finish tired, are their ears pricked or are they grateful it’s over?

Haras du Pin is a super venue, with terrain that invites imaginative design. The course was beautifully built. But footing is the single most important factor in a track and this event was a victim of the weather. The organisers spent time and money on the going, but even so it was not great.

Walking the course, I felt it was unrelenting — big, with lots of questions, on the verge of being too much. There were 18 brush fences on the direct route and riders repeatedly tackled a large jump followed by an accuracy question. It was a big ask of the horses.

I always felt the last water was a question too many and that was borne out — it wasn’t pretty. We saw good horses come to grief trying to do as they were asked.

I left with mixed feelings. I didn’t really enjoy watching, although most competitors did a cracking job and rode responsibly. But I don’t care to see good horses trying their best, yet becoming disheartened or being bottomed out.

The Brits did us proud, but of course everyone is devastated by the very sad loss of Wild Lone after such a terrific round.

➤ British Eventing chief executive Mike Etherington-Smith designed the track for the 2010 WEG in Kentucky.

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