Talented young rider killed in cross-country fall
A talented young French event rider has been killed in a fall at a national event.
Thaïs Meheust, who won multiple medals at pony, junior and young rider European Championships, died in a cross-country fall at le Pin au Haras, Normandy, on Saturday (7 September).
The 22-year-old was riding the grey gelding, Chaman Dumontceau, when the horse fell at the second fence in the seven-year-old national championships.
A statement from the French equestrian federation said the sport is in mourning.
Thais was part of gold medal-winning teams at every level of international youth eventing, from ponies to most recently young riders at the 2018 championships.
She was a rising star in the international eventing world and had numerous wins and top-10 placings up to new four-star level.
She recently made the step up to senior squads and was on the French side that contested the British leg of the FEI Nations Cup series at Houghton in May.
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Thais, who studied law, was also part of the youth panel at the 2018 FEI sports forum, which discussed and presented ideas for the future of equestrian sport over two days in Switzerland last year.
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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.