Ingrid Klimke (GER) and SAP Hale Bob OLD's clean and quick run around the cross-country track left them in gold medal position heading into show jumping. | Photo: FEI/Christophe Tanire

Germany’s Ingrid Klimke kept her nerve to grab the lead as the Irish and French riders lit up a dramatic adrenaline-fueled day of cross-country at the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Equestrian Games (WEG) Tryon 2018, underway at the Tryon International Equestrian Center, in Mill Spring, North Carolina.

Klimke, second overnight, made it look easy as she and mount SAP Hale Bob OLD flew round the 5,700-meter course in 10:00 minutes, bang on the optimal time. Great Britain’s Rosalind Canter kept a relatively familiar look to the leaderboard as she and Allstar B improved from third to second, following a swift, flawless round. But the real drama came behind.

Ireland have never won a team medal at the WEG but with two riders sitting in the top seven, that could all be about to change. Sarah Ennis (IRL) leads the way with a score of 26.30 points, enough to put her into the bronze medal position with just the show jumping to come