‘She didn’t let me down’: Pau five-star leaderboard undergoes huge shake up after cross-country
Jonelle Price and Grappa Nera are in second place after cross-country at Pau five-star.
(Image credit: Libby Law)
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.”
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.
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.
Just 7.8 penalties separate the top 10 ahead of the showjumping.
The final horse inspection gets underway tomorrow at 12.30pm.
You might also be interested in:
‘I’m very lucky to ride such a special horse’: British rider leads Pau Horse Trials after cross-country
Take a leap of faith: check out the 2022 Pau five-star cross-country course
Watch Pau Horse Trials 2025 live from wherever you are
‘I’ve never really thought of him as a five-star horse’: meet Piggy March’s sister, who is taking on her first five-star since 2004
Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round
TOPICS
