IT’s the stuff dreams are made of!” said 31-year-old Laura Collett after winning her first five-star event in Pau last weekend. Riding the 11-year-old German-bred gelding London 52, by Landos, on his five-star debut, Collett led from the start and didn’t put a foot wrong to finally land victory at the highest level on her 12th time of trying.

In the only five-star competition of 2020, it was a phenomenal weekend of sport and Collett not only produced a record-breaking score of 21.3 at Pau, data company EquiRatings reported the result is the best five-star score on record.

“I still don’t quite believe this is all really happening. This morning, I was saying to myself that if I had had the choice, I wouldn’t have wanted to ride any other horse than London 52 in this kind of competition!

"He’s a fantastic jumper. It was his first time competing at this level and I really wasn’t expecting this kind of result at the end of the competition,” an estatic Collett said.

When the British rider entered the dressage ring on Friday, Bettina Hoy’s 2008 record of 22.5 had already been beaten twice, first by Piggy March (née French) and the Irish Sport Horse Brookfield Inocent (22.2), who eventually finished second, and Australia’s Chris Burton with the ISH Graf Liberty (22.0).

Despite a rocky start when London 52 stuck his head in the air after the first halt, their test was beautiful and accurate throughout and earned the top scores from the impressed judges, including a 10 for the extended canter. “He was a bit nervous when he entered the track but then he was well focused throughout the test,” Collett said afterwards.

New Zealand’s Tim Price lay fourth after the first phase with Wesko (23) while six of the top 10 places were occupied by British riders. Reigning world champion Ros Canter was lying in fifth with Zenshera (34.8) while Alex Bragg (24.9, Zagreb), five-star debutant Mollie Summerland (Charly Van Ter Heiden, 25.5) and Collett with her second mount, the more experienced Mr Bass (26.2), were all within the top 10.

Cross-country

Ten (22%) of the 45 riders managed to get home clear inside the time around Pierre Michelet’s cross-country course on Saturday, in contrast to 2019 when just one rider made the time, and, unusually, there were no horse or rider falls on course.

Having sussed the routes out earlier in the day with Mr Bass, who finished with 7.6 time faults, Collett came home one second inside the optimum time with London 52 to keep the lead after cross-country.

French and Brookfield Inocent moved up to second place with a clear round inside the time when Chris Burton’s chance at a top finish came to an end with the Brian Livingstone-bred 15-year-old Graf Liberty (Limmerick x Cavalier Royale) when he ran-out at fence 14ab.

Price and Wesko moved to third, and Bragg moved up three places to fourth with the Pau specialist Zagreb. Summerland put in a classy performance to move up from eighth to fifth, while 2019 winners Tom McEwan and Toledo de Kerser moved up six places to complete the top six.

Collett, who has had her problems cross-country with the 11-year-old London 52, including elimination at last year’s European Championships, said: “After my first round with Mr Bass, I knew I had to be very careful with London 52 on the combinations. He’s a very careful horse and always jumps a bit bigger too. So I stayed very concentrated and he was just perfect.

“It’s the first time he’s ridden an 11-minute cross-country course, so I’ll see how things go tomorrow in the show jumping event, but whatever happens, I’m just really proud of him this evening!

“It really picks you up to hear the encouragements from spectators along the course! The public here in Pau is really amazing. So, a big thank you to them all and to the organisation team to have made it possible to run the cross-country course in these conditions.”

March was delighted with the John Mulvey-bred 11-year-old Brookfield Inocent (Inocent x Kings Servant), who won the CCI4*-L at Blenheim last year and is being aimed towards the Tokyo Olympic Games next summer. “For me it was a golden opportunity to prepare Brookfield Inocent for the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year. I’ve never been to Pau before, but I more or less expected the kind of course that we rode today; a course that encouraged forward, brave, attacking riding but with the odd sneaky thing put in.

“I’m really proud of my horse who was competing in his first five-star cross-country event today. I think he’s one of the best horses I’ve ever had.”

Piggy March and Brookfield Inocent finished second in the CCI5* at Pau \ Peter Nixon

Show jumping

There were no changes to the top four on Sunday and victory for Britain was assured when March, second last into the arena, produced a faultless round. The pressure was heaped on Collett as she needed a clear inside the time to hold on the top place. A time fault would relegate her to second, and a fence down to fifth.

However, London 52 held up his excellent jumping record to hold on and secure his first victory at this level at the first time of trying, to earn just over €40,000. Tim Price and Wesko added 0.8 for time to finish third ahead of Bragg and Zagreb who repeated their 2019 placing of fourth.

McEwen and Toledo de Kerser were clear to finish fifth, ahead of Oliver Townend and the Ghareeb-sired Irish Sport Horse MHS King Joules – who, bred by the late Ita Brennan, is out of Gowran Lady (Cavalier Royale) – in sixth.

Dream debut

Another eye-catching ISH in the top 10 was the Gary Higgins-bred Mermus R Diamonds (Mermus R x Colourfield), ridden by British 21-year-old Richard Coney. On a five-star debut for both horse and rider, the 10-year-old gelding moved from 34th after dressage to finish ninth with a stunning double clear round.

The dam of Mermus R Diamonds, Pendle Watercolour, was bred by Irish Horse World contributor Susan Finnerty in Ballinasloe, Co Galway. (Read more about Mermus R Diamonds on page 108.) Mollie Summerland also completed her first five-star in the top 10, finishing 10th with two poles down on the final day.

Showing just how dominant the nation is at the highest level of eventing, seven of the top 10 places were filled by British riders. French riders Alexis Goury (Trompe L’Oeil D’Emery) and Maxime Livio (Vitorio Du Montet) finished seventh and eighth.

Laura Collett’s CV

LAURA Collett (31) has been a top name on the international circuit for many years, having claimed no less than nine medals at underage level, including three individual golds. She won her first international competition at the age of 16 and finished eighth at Badminton on her debut in 2011 with Rayef. A crashing fall at Tweseldown in July 2013 put her in a induced coma and the impact of the fall damaged the sight in her right eye. She wears goggles on the cross-country as the wind and sun effect the sight in her good eye. She finished second at five-star Luhmühlen in 2018 with Mr Bass, but has had her fair share of disappointments with London 52, including at Aachen last year where she led after dressage but picked up 20 penalties on cross-country, and at the 2019 European Championships where she was third after dressage and was eliminated cross-country. The pair bounced back to win the four-star at Boekelo last October on a dressage score of 26 and their finishing score of 21.3 in Pau, the best ever on record, shows just how far they have come. (Don’t miss the Big Interview with Laura Collett next week.)

Disappointment for Austin O’Connor

IRELAND’s only representative in Pau, Austin O’Connor, moved up to 11th place after a brilliant clear cross-country round with Colorado Blue, who is owned by the rider and The Salty Syndicate. Sadly, the pair were sent to the holding box at Sunday’s morning’s trot-up and subsequently eliminated by the ground jury. Taking to social media, O’Connor said the 11-year-old Jaguar Mail-sired gelding had a bruised foot but was “absolutely fine” and will be aimed at Badminton in the spring. The pair opened on a dressage penalty score of 32 to lie 28th after the first phase.