THE 2021 World breeding championships for young event horses is taking place this weekend at its traditional venue of Le Lion d’Angers in western France where, following the dressage phase, the Oldenburg mare Lagona 4 tops the CCI2*-L for six-year-olds while the CCI3*-L for seven-year-olds is headed by the Holsteiner mare Cute Girl.

Thursday’s session of dressage in the seven-year-old championship was dominated by British riders who filled five of the top six placings. By close of play yesterday, the leaderboard still displayed a proliferation of Union Jacks but, at that stage, Australia’s Kevin McNab headed the standings on 26.9 penalties with Scuderia 1918’s Cute Girl, a grey by Coventry on whom he was eliminated last year when jumping an incorrect cross-country fence.

On the last of four international starts this season, McNab and Cute Girl finished third in the CCIYH3*-S at Osberton.

Britain’s Laura Collett, who had led overnight, finished the dressage phase in second with the Trakehner gelding Outback (27.2) ahead of her compatriot Hayden Hankey with the Irish Sport Horse gelding Heads Up (27.4), a son of OBOS Quality 004 who had placed second at Osberton. Also from Britain, Selina Milnes lies fourth with the ISH gelding Cooley Snapshot (27.5) while Oliver Townend is a place back with the ISH mare Cooley Rosalent (27.9) on whom he finished second in the six-year-old championship 12 months ago.

Irish riders

Best of the Irish, in joint-17th, is south Co Dublin’s Ian Cassells riding Fiona Leahy and Gerry Leahy’s ISH gelding Millridge Atlantis (31.4), a grey by Dinan Cascaletto.

Lagona 4, who is by Lavagon out of the Cartani 4 mare Ile de Cartina, is a first ride at these championships for Germany’s Anna Lena Schaarf who was Pony and Junior European champion in 2016 and 2019. This season, the 20-year-old won team gold and individual silver at the European Young Riders championships in Sweden on Fairytale 39 with whom she made a successful debut at CCI4*-S level in Strzegom last weekend.

Last month, Schaarf and Lagona 4 won the CCI2*-S at Langenhagen having landed a similar class restricted to six-year-olds at Jardy in July.

Here, the German combination went into the lead on 25.8 penalties when 10th to compete on Thursday morning, relegating the French duo of Thomas Carlile and the Selle Français mare Fair Lady des Broucks (26.5) into second. Best of those who competed on Friday was another home pairing of Nicolas Touzaint and the SF gelding, Fibonacci de Lessac HDC (26.8) who slotted into third.

Third last to go yesterday morning, Sarah Ennis recorded a score of 28 with the ISH gelding Dourough Ferro Class Act, an S Creevagh Ferro bay who is owned by the rider’s husband, Niki Potterton, and Wendy Harris. This saw the Co Meath rider share fifth place with Britain’s Izzy Taylor riding the ISH gelding SBH Big Wall, a son of Puissance.

Today’s action over the Pierre Michelet-designed CCI2*-L cross-country course starts at 10am local time with the first seven-year-old due out at 12.30pm.