The home riders got off to a strong start in Thursday afternoon's CSI5* 1.45m presented by Asia Horse Week at the Longines Masters of Paris, with Gregory Cottard taking the top honours aboard the 12-year-old mare Regate d'Aure (Robin II Z x Drakkar Des Hutins).
Stopping the clock at 58.26 seconds in this speed class, Cottard beat USA's Lauren Hough on Quantas 15 (Quintero x Laurin) by over a second. Four more French riders filled up the top five: Alexandra Paillot finished third on Tonio la Goutelle (Ogrion Des Champs x El Paso Platiere), Nicolas Delmotte fourth on Urvoso du Roch (Nervoso SF x Grand d'Escla) and Simon Delestre fifth on Gain Line (Stolzenberg x Raphael).