The battle has begun, and festivities are in full swing

Press Release – The 2016 edition of the CCI and CAIO 4* events in Pau has kicked off with a colourful weekend in store! To start this elite sports meeting, 49 horse & rider pairs showed their skills in the main dressage arena in the grounds of the Domaine de Sers yesterday afternoon and this morning.

The recent European Young Riders champion, French athlete Marie Charlotte Fuss, and her mare, Anabolia, took the lead in the provisional ranking with a score of 40.6. Close behind them are Aurélien Leroy and Boyjoyce Chavannais (41.1), and by Belgium rider Karin Donckers and Jalapeno (42.2). The recent Rio gold team medallist Karim Florent Laghouag ranked 11th with a score of 45.8, extremely satisfied with the focused performance of his young 7-year gelding, Vendéen des Bois.

This afternoon, for the CCI**** competition, 26 competitors gave their performance before the international judges. No surprises here, as Michael Jung and Fischerrocana FST provisionally rank first with a score of 43.8, followed by the British combinations Laura Collett/Pamero 4 (45.9) and Kirsty Johnston/Opposition Detective (46.7). The French eventing competitors Geoffroy Soullez and Pascal Leroy respectively rank 6th and 8th at this stage.

Following this trial, the horses competing in the CAIO**** passed the veterinary examinations, as they will be competing in their own dressage event at the remarkable Domaine de Sers site, starting tomorrow afternoon.

The competitors took advantage of this second day to do their walk-through of the CIC** and CCI**** cross-country course and to share their impressions with trainers, friends and family, the media and the 350 volunteer workers there to lend a helping hand! They also benefited from Karim Florent Laghouag’s kind expert advice during the two hours it took to walk the 6-km course designed by Pierre Michelet.

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Source: Press Release