Marie-Jeanette Steinle, who retired after a cross-county fall at last week's European three-day event championships, heads the French three-day event at Le Lion d'Angers after the first day of dressage. The German rider, whose parents host the Bonn-Rodderberg fixture where the Irish team finished second last month, has a 5.2 penalty advantage.

Steinle was the only rider to break through the 40-point barrier, scoring a mark of 38.2 when last into the arena yesterday with Holsteiner, Classic S.

Sally Corscadden, the only Irish rider competing in the seven-year-old class yesterday, slotted into 12th place with Stephanie von Schilcher's Young Man. Her mark of 52.4 leaves her 14.2 adrift of the leader.

But Irish bloodlines top the separate six-year-old class. Bonny C, an Irish sport horse by the thoroughbred sire Bonnie Prince out of a Ceredigion mare, earned a mark of 31.8 to take the lead for Belgium's Virginie Caulier. Pippa Funnell, who won at Le Lion d'Angers last year and was re-crowned as European champion last week, is 1.6 adrift in second with Best Of All II.

Ciaran Glynn, the sole Irish rider in this section, was disadvantaged by discovering only moments before he was due in the arena that he had learnt the wrong test. With the help of New Zealander Andrew Nicholson, Glynn rapidly learnt the new test and put in a solid performance with Wren's Nest to slot into 19th on a score of 54.2.