Was hurdling a field sport? (5)

I believe the answer is:

leapt

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'was hurdling a' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'field sport?' is the wordplay.
'field' becomes 'lea' (I've seen this before).
'sport?' becomes 'pt' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'lea'+'pt'='LEAPT'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for leapt that I've seen before include "Jumped, sprang" , "Made spring" , "gone up dramatically" , "Jumped a long way" , "Bounded, sprang" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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