Laura COLLETT (GBR) riding LONDON 52 at the prize giving of the CCI 5* at the Les Étoiles de Pau held at Domaine de Sers just outside Pau in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques region of France between 21-25 October 2020
Pau Horse Trials, correctly known as the Les 5 étoiles de Pau, kicks off today, with a fine British contingent in the running and Laura Collett looking to defend her 2020 win. Our reporter, Lucy Elder, will be updating our Pau microsite each day to keep you abreast of all the action, and you can simultaneously watch this five-star finale of the eventing season from the comfort of your sofa. Enjoy!
I hear nothing but good things about Keysoe International since under new ownership – particularly about the food – so it’s unsurprising that riders are gutted the venue will no longer be hosting British Eventing (BE) competitions, having made the decision to focus on being a world-class training venue for eventing. BE are looking at alternative fixtures. The venue candidly explained: “Of all the events we run, eventing does not make any money, and food and drink sales are also poor, plus very high overheads. We often use food and drink sales to subsidise our costs to keep the equine community able to use this facility.” So that’s understandable.
The question over where to draw the line between treating – and by that I mean with sugar lumps, not physio – and cheating in dressage was sparked by the first-draft FEI rule suggestion to ban “any type of white substance” that could indicate foaming at the mouth and potentially cover lip injuries. National federations have had the chance to have their say on these drafts and voting on the final draft of proposals will take place at the FEI general assembly in Belgium (14–17 November). “Some horses foam when given a sugar cube or gum bits, which should not be penalised by this rule change,” noted the US federation. “If the intent is to prohibit “marshmallow fluff” or similar substances, it should be specifically noted, as to not potentially penalise a horse given a sugar cube/gum bits, etc.” The amendment states it would be “strictly forbidden to use any type of white substance (like “marshmallow fluff”, shaving cream, etc…) around the horse’s mouth to imitate foaming; this is considered cheating and against horse welfare as it can hide lip injuries. This will result in a warning or a yellow card.” I’ve had to Google “marshmallow fluff” in the past week to establish it is a delicious, low-fat breakfast option on toast.
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Sarah has worked at an equestrian journalist and editor since 2004 and has held the position of Horse & Hound Editor-in-Chief since 2014. She has reported for Horse & Hound from major championships including Europeans and World Equestrian Games. She has co-written books on horses and horse sport including The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horses & Ponies. She has owned and ridden horses since 1993, and worked for and trained with Olympic gold medallist event rider Leslie Law prior to going to university. While studying for a BSc at London School of Economics Sarah also worked for top British dressage rider Louise Spate.
