Tom McEwan Wins Les Etoiles De Pau
Tom McEwan riding Toldeo de Kerser has won his first 5 start international eventing competition at Pau 5*. This three-day event was held in France over the 24th – 27th October 2019 and is one of the six highest CCI5*L competitions in the world.
Three years after their first 5* debut Tom and Toldeo jumped a flawless double clear to win the Pau title on 25.7 penalties. This victory was with over 8 points in hand to nearest contender Christopher Burton who placed second.
Speaking after his clear cross country Tom McEwan said “Toledo was unbelievable. He started off very keen, and then the round got smoother and smoother.”
Toledo is owned by Fred and Penny Barker, Jane Inns and Ali McEwen and was selected for the European Championship. However, he unfortunately fell over at home and scraped his side so was unable to compete. This run at Pau was a vital run for Tom and Toledo in the step towards selection for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Britain’s World Equestrian Games individual gold medallist Ros Canter, who only recently gave birth to daughter Ziggy three and a half months ago, also jumped clear cross country with only six time-faults and then had 2 poles show jumping to finish the competition in 5th place.
A delighted Ros after cross country said: “I am absolutely over the moon, to be honest. I was quite nervous this morning, wondering if I was doing the right thing, but I think that was my best round here so far. I didn’t have a single bad jump, he is such an honest horse.”
Top 10 placings 2019
1 – Tom McEwen – Toledo De Kerser
2 – Christopher Burton – Quality Purdey
3 – Shane Rose – Virgil
4 – Alexander Bragg – Zagreb
5 – Rosalind Canter – Zenshera
6 – Tim Price – Ascona M
7 – Kevin McNab – Scuderia 1918 Don Quid
8 – Andreas Dibowski – FRH Butts Avedon
9 – Mathieu Lemoine – Tzinga D’Auzay
10 – Sarah Way – Dassett Cooley Dun
From all the The Horse Exchange Team – Congratulations Tom on your first 5* win!