Fontainebleau: Nicolas Touzaint takes the lead
On Thursday morning the third qualifyer of the Eventing World Cup in Fontainebleau began with a slightly cloudy sky and a temperature of around 9° C. As usual, it was the traditional dressage test that set the ball rolling. Out of the 72 pairs of riders and horses, 27 performed in the outdoor school, meticulously carrying out a series of figures which were judged to evaluate the performance’s precision, the horse’s submission, the quality of its paces, its impulsion and the rider’s position… Dressage is the basis of all forms of riding and equestrian disciplines. It is a true art where aesthetics play a dominant role. With this kind of performance, it was the Danish rider May Britt Kattrup with Victor who took the lead of the provisional ranking with a total of 46.0 in front of the 5th rider in the World, the German competitor Andreas Dibowski and Little Lemon (49.4). The French riders Bertrand Vuatoux /Jerrico de Janière, Eric Vigeanel/ Maranello and Nicolas Touzaint / Hethi Bay are currently in 4th, 5th and 6th place.
At the end of the second day on Friday which concluded the Dressage test, it was the current Olympic Champion in the team event, Nicolas Touzaint (10th in the World), who clearly took the lead in the provisional ranking with his faithful
Galan de Sauvagère, with a total of 36.0 points, leaving an enchanted and unanimous jury after his performance. Four points behind him, (that is to say approximately a difference of 10 seconds on Saturday’s Cross-country test), in second place, is the current World Vice-Champion, the Australian rider Clayton Fredericks with Nullabor (40.0 points), who is also in 4th place with his other horse Ben Along Time. The 2002 World Champion who is also the current Olympic Champion in the team event, the omnipresent Jean Teulère and Espoir de la Mare finished 3rd (40.8 points).
On Saturday, the competitors will perform the most long-awaited test of the competition, the Cross-country event. The course is made up of 26 natural obstacles, eight of which are combinations.
Check the results.