The USA’s Boyd Martin recovered from a rough time last weekend at the Fair Hill, Maryland, event to finish a very respectable fifth place Sunday at the Pau, France, 5-star with Federman B. Boyd took hard cross-country falls in both the 3-star and 5-star at Maryland, but while originally unsure he would compete at Pau, in the end he was undeterred from crossing the Atlantic to try again.
Bruno, as the horse is known, was Boyd’s Olympic mount in Paris. Living up to his reputation for being a star over the sticks, the 14-year-old KWPN gelding neatly handled the fences to add nothing to his 47.1-penalty score that had put him sixth following cross-country.
Boyd Martin and Federman B in the show jumping at Pau. (Peter Nixon Photo)
“Bruno has proved that he is one of the greatest horses in the world,” said Boyd.
“To finish tenth at the Olympics and then fifth at Pau. An unbelievable achievement.”
The top three in the standings didn’t change as all registered clear rounds on the route set by Yann Reyant, with Britain’s Caroline Harris winning on D.Day (40.3). Following her in the order of finish were two more Brits, Ros Canter oh-so-close in second on Izilot DH (40.6) and world number one Tom McEwen, third on Brookfield Quality (43). China’s Alex Hua Tin (Chicko) was fourth on 45.7.
Boyd moved up from sixth after cross country (he had been sixteenth in dressage) when Britain’s Piggy March on Halo, who was fourth, dropped a rail to end in seventh.
The other U.S. rider at Pau, Will Coleman on Off the Record, was twenty-fourth (63.6) with four faults in the final phase. He had been thirty-ninth in the dressage segment.
Boyd withdrew his other horse, Miss Lulu Herself, fearing she would injure herself in the “knee-deep mud” that prevailed in the rain under “horrific conditions” on cross-country day, since she would be going near the end of the order. Luckily, the show jumping was held in a ring with all-weather footing.
Click here to see the final results from Pau
