One horse was spun at the final Pau Horse Trials trot-up and 55 combinations will go forwards to the showjumping this afternoon (27 October) at the French five-star.
Bellscross Guy, owned and ridden by Ireland’s Dominic Furnell, was not accepted by the ground jury of James Rooney, Emmanuelle Olier and Katarzyna Konarska. The pair were in 55th place after cross-country.
Four other competitors were held and all were passed on re-inspection. Three British horses were among these – Treworra (provisional 18th), ridden by Katie Magee, Tom Rowland’s first horse KND Steel Pulse (56th after cross-country), and Storm Straker’s campaigner Fever Pitch (17th overnight).
Belline Fighting Spirit, the ride of Ireland’s Joseph Murphy and who is in provisional 32nd place ahead of the final phase, was also held, before being given the nod of approval on re-presentation.
The heavy rain that hit Pau Horse Trials on Friday and Saturday has given way to warm sunshine for the final day. There were no overnight withdrawals after cross-country and horses looked bright and well at today’s horse inspection, after slopping through yesterday’s mud.
British rider Caroline Harris’s overnight leader D.Day, who is owned by his breeder Fiona Oliver with Lucy Matthews, Marie Anne Richardson and Heather Royle, sailed through the final Pau Horse Trials trot-up. He will be the last horse to jump this afternoon.
The Pau Horse Trials showjumping is scheduled to start at 2.45pm local time (1.45pm UK time). As there are several riders with multiple horses, the earlier end of the start list isn’t in exact reverse order. However, the top 13 competitors will run in descending order.
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Oliver Townend and Crazy Du Loir (25th overnight) will be the first of the 55 to jump.
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.
