Irish make their mark in Fontainebleau

By Frank Mulvihill

Strong winds and heavy rain set the scene for the Irish pony contingent as the international pony show got underway in Fontainebleau, France, last weekend. Despite the weather the Irish distinguished themselves on the opening day with three wins and a host of top-10 places.

Sixteen-year-old Jessica Burke from Galway won the opening competition on Bean Alainn and also took the winner's laurels in the six-year-old class with Killeen Appraisal. Galway's Michael Duffy placed second in the opening competition with Choice Sunbeam and also featured in the seven-year-old competition, which was won by Jennifer French and Shercock Rose.

Cork's Nicky Murphy was also prominent with a runner-up spot in the two-phase competition on Ashlair Lady. On Saturday, Corkgirl Madeline Roberts-Allen took Ireland's second red rosette in the six-year-old category on Garrandruig Gold Digger.

Nations Cup

Ireland was drawn last to jump of five teams in Saturday's pony Nations Cup at the French venue - a competition won by Irish teams in both 2005 and 2006.

Longford's 15-year-old Shane Connell and the grey gelding Murphy's Flight was the only Irish combination to achieve a double-clear, while Galway's Michael Duffy on Philip McManus's Silver Shadow and fellow Galwegian Jessica Burke with Gabriel Slattery's European Clover both recorded four faults. Tyrone's Emma Smyth was the discard score in both rounds on Robert Smyth's gelding Dream Cruise, taking four faults in the first round and eight in the second.

Afterwards, chef d'equipe Ian Fearon said: "I am happy. We were lucky and unlucky. Jessica Burke had a young pony and had one fence down, Michael Duffy had the last fence down, which was heartbreaking for him, and Shane Connell delivered a fantastic double-clear.

"Emma Smyth had a toe in the water, a fence down and a stop and that was unfortunate, but overall these are great kids, great riders, and a couple of them were making their debut at this level today. So, overall, I have to say I'm happy with the performances. Last year we were equal second, this year we own the silver medal. That's a step up."

Ireland Wins Grand Prix

Fifteen-year-old Shane Connell's single time fault on Murphy's Flight in Sunday's CSIOP Grand Prix was enough to win the competition in a two-horse jump-off with Denmark's Alexandra Sisseck. Connell was joined in the Grand Prix top 10 by Galway's Jessica Burke, who finished fourth, while Emma Smyth and Michael Duffy accounted for 10th and 11th places, respectively. In the CSIP Grand Prix, Kilkenny's Vincent Byrne took third place on Fortview Master, with Hayley Dunne and Kiltomer Grey taking eighth place.