A 24.8 final score at the upper levels of eventing — that’s not a number you see too often.

To say that Five Points Horse Trials was a successful tune-up for Will Faudree and Jennifer Mosing’s Pawlow would almost be an understatement. The trials took place at Carolina Horse Park last weekend.

Faudree, a World Equestrian Games veteran and Olympic traveling reserve, and 13-year-old Irish Thoroughbred Pawlow ran away with the victory in open intermediate, winning by six full points over William Coleman and Ole Boy in second (30.8). Lynn Symansky and Donner landed in third on a 31.6.

The combination will now embark on a testing fall show schedule, including Plantation Field Horse Trials Sept. 21-23 in Unionville, Pa., where Pawlow will run the CIC*.

After a three-month stint in Europe, Faudree — who rides out of Gavilan Farm in Hoffman — returned only days before Five Points. Barn manager Nat V-C had kept the horses in work during his absence, but Faudree dropped his rides down a level.

“The horses needed a run. They hadn’t since May,” he said.

The quirky Pawlow, or “Ernie,” often provides his handlers with hair-raising fun on the ground, but once he cantered down the centerline at Five Points, he was all business — his 24.8 in dressage was the second highest score of the day.

“There’s always room for improvement, but I’m happy with where he was,” Faudree said. “He always shows up to work. He’s a very talented horse.”

Foot-perfect jumping phases gave Faudree and Pawlow the win.

After a year that included top-five finishes at the Bromont Three-Day Event CIC in Canada and the Jersey Fresh International CIC in New Jersey, Faudree said he was disappointed that Pawlow didn’t make the U.S. team short list for the London Games.

“Riding for teams, you have to play the game and respect selectors’ decisions,” he said.

For now, he’ll look ahead to the Dansko Fair Hill International CCI in the fall and the Rolex Kentucky CCI* next spring with both Pawlow and his other advanced ride, Andromaque.

Faudree also piloted Riesling De Buissy to a second-place finish behind Kim Severson and Wiley Post (31.7) in open preliminary.

After an impressive win at the Horse Park’s starter horse trials in July, Durham resident Diana Abernathy made a triumphant return with her quarter horse mare Rahav, bringing home the blue in training rider (32.3) over Brittany Bridges and Derrymor (34.6).

O’Neal School senior Mikaela Kantorowski and Text improved five places from their dressage standing and took the third place spot (37.2). The top three posted the only double-clear jumping rounds in the division.

Kris Hamilton, of Raeford, and her Thoroughbred Five O capped a winning season with a start-to-finish victory in novice rider on a 28.5, dominating the class by nearly five points over Amie Collins and Chatelaine (33) in second.

A dropped stadium rail cut it close for Susan Beebee and Fernhill Okay in open novice, but the pair managed to hang on and claim the win over Leslie Patton and True North, finishing on a final score of 33.

Charlottesville resident Lucia Strini and local rider Elizabeth Hart — aboard Model American and Two If By “C,” respectively — both tied with Patton for the runner-up spot, each on scores of 34. As per USEA rules, cross country time was used as the tiebreaker, and Patton’s time of 5:55 was closest to the optimum of 5:56, giving her the edge over Strini and Hart.

Karen Mahaffey, of Sanford, won open beginner novice with Hero’s Winning Hit (30.2) over Hayley Smith and Cyber Jet (31.9). Local juniors Rebecca Mahaffey and Elle Dembosky both placed in the top five in beginner novice rider aboard Cookies ‘N’ Cream and This Bid’s For You, respectively.

Horse park director Nick Ellis said expectations for the show were “more than met,” pointing out that Five Points overlapped with the American Eventing Championships held Sept. 6-9 in Fairburn, Ga. Many top eventing combinations were lured away.

“The number of horses exceeded what we’d hoped,” Ellis said. “And we had a lot of positive feedback about the courses, the footing and the management of the event.”

Complete results can be found at carolinahorsepark.com. The Horse Park’s starter horse trials series will return Oct. 6.