A thrilling day of cross-country sees Team GB retain their gold-medal position with a score of 82.5. They sit just five penalties ahead of host nation France on 87.2, while Japan fill the bronze spot with 93.8.
Team GB Path finders Tom McEwen and JL Dublin remained on their dressage score of 25.8 after a foot-perfect clear around the stunning cross-country course at the beautiful Château de Versailles. They currently sit in sixth place going into tomorrow’s third phase.
Tom said of his round: “Dubs was phenomenal from start to finish. It is the most amazing crowd all the way around the course. The horses love it. It’s a fantastic course that allows you to be open and free to start with and then think about where you need to close up. I did change my mind at a few elements but I’m lucky that I’m riding a European champion thanks to Nicola [Wilson], and have done enough five stars on him not to have that experience, but there is still plenty to jump. You have to stay with them and connected and give them all the confidence.”
A lost shoe early on in the course saw fellow team-mate Laura Collett and London 52 pick up 0.8-time penalties in another otherwise fabulous round. They sit in individual silver medal position overnight on a score of 18.3, just 0.5 penalties behind Germany’s Michael Jung and Chipmunk FRH whose clear round saw them take the lead on their dressage score of 17.8.
Of her round, Laura said: “It was amazing. The crowds are unbelievable from start to finish and it was such a buzz. London 52 is just a horse of a lifetime and was incredible. The time was tight and there were a few places where you can let them gallop but also lots of twists and turns that kill the speed. He lost a front shoe quite early on so I had to be careful around the tight turns, but it shows what a good horse he is and how much of a partnership you can build up with a horse.”
Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo were the last combination to go for Team GB and flew round the course at Versailles to finish an incredible six seconds inside the optimum time of 9.02 minutes. Currently, however, an appeal is ongoing for 15 penalties given for a flag rule. This puts Ros on a score of 38.4. The results of the appeal will be announced soon.
Ros said of her and round: “Walter was his usual amazing self. He loves to gallop and jump and loves the crowd, so he was in his element. I’m over the moon with him. I had to keep chugging on – it wasn’t a walk in the park but there were some lovely galloping stretches and I did have to get him back for some of the jumps. But he came back to me well and was a superstar. The crowds were amazing and cheered us on even before we’d got to the jump which I’d never experienced before.”
Full results can be found here: https://bit.ly/3LI96i5
Full report to follow.
