New Zealand showjumpers Katie McVean and Daniel Meech notched up significant results in France overnight.
Meech, riding his German-owned stallion Diagonal, was second by a whisker in the grand prix at the three-star La Courneuve show on the outskirts of Paris, while McVean and the English-owned Honnie won their first international
class in a two-phase event which attracted 52 entries.
Hawke's Bay's Meech, based in Germany, was one of three to go clear of the 52 starters over the 1.50-1.60m rails and was the fastest, but dropped a rail on the second-to-last fence.
Nine-year-old Diagonal, owned by Claudia Klaas, is one of his nominated horses for Aachen in Germany, where New Zealand hope to qualify for the Olympics.
Meech is having a fine buildup to the event, and is likely to lead the four-strong New Zealand team, to be announced later this week.
Meanwhile, McVean from Cambridge but now based in England, was just too slick for the opposition in her two-phase class on Honnie, who is owned by Michael Bates, past president of the British Showjumping Association.
The combination jumped a clear first phase over the 1.45m jumps, going on to take out the event more than a second ahead of second place.
McVean, who turns 17 on Thursday, is making quite an impact on the European scene.
She was the youngest at the French show and the only female rider to win a class at the show, which attracted entries from 28 nations.
Competitors at international shows are by invitation only, with the three-star ranking the highest.
McVean's father Jeff, who has ridden for both New Zealand and Australia, says just receiving an invite was sometimes the hardest part.
Young McVean, who left New Zealand in April and won't return until after the English Horse of the Year Show, which she has already been invited to compete at in August, also picked up a fourth on Gypsy De Bacon at the French show.
She is too young to line up in the grand prix events at the three star events despite being New Zealand's young rider of the year, winning the series and finishing third in the horse grand prix series.
Waikato's Grant Wilson riding Radieux, was 20th in the grand prix at the French show.
- NZPA
