Billy Twomey rounded off a successful weekend for Ireland at the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) in Birmingham when he claimed victory in the speed championship last Sunday. Riding the Irish Sport Horse Ardcolum Duke (Gypsy Duke x Clover Hill), Twomey and Joe Flynn’s horse stopped the clock just under a second faster than Britain’s John Whitaker and Lord Of Arabia to collect the first prize of €4,000. Ireland’s David Simpson and Arantos were sixth.

Twomey began Ireland’s run of successes at HOYS when he won on Friday with Katrina Moore’s Royale du Rouet in the Five Fence Challenge, just ahead of Ireland’s Cian O’Connor and Ulme De Feugeres. Bertram Allen and Belmonde placed equal fourth.

The run of good luck continued with victory for Tipperary’s Trevor Breen and Karen Swann’s Adventure de Kannan in Friday night’s feature class.

On Saturday night, Antrim’s David Simpson shared first prize in the puissance competition when he and three British riders went clear to the fourth jump-off, where they had four faults.

Nineteen-year-old Bertram Allen came close to registering Ireland’s fifth victory at Birmingham when he steered Billy Twomey’s stallion Romanov through to the six-horse jump-off in Sunday’s Grand Prix, but two poles on the ground in the last round left him in fifth place overall. The Grand Prix was won by France’s Julien Epaillard and Cristallo A LM.

International Round-up

Denis Lynch brought out his new mount, Flaminia Straumann’s Quote Zavaan, to claim second place at the three-star Grand Prix at Kiel in Germany. Lynch narrowly lost out to Germany’s Jörg Naeve and Castro in the jump-off.

Elsewhere, Ireland’s Ger Clarke and the Irish Sport Horse Rafiki were runners-up in the Grand Prix at Dunkerque in France.

In eventing, the loss of team horse Simon Porloe, withdrawn by rider Padraig McCarthy before the show jumping phase last Sunday at the Nations Cup at Boekelo in the Netherlands, left Ireland with just three riders and the team dropped from overnight fourth to fifth of 10 nations competing. The trophy was won by New Zealand.

Ireland remain in Nations Cup top league for 2015

Norway’s late withdrawal from last week’s Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup final in Barcelona means that Ireland, placed second-last in the European Division 1 this season, will remain in the elite league for 2015.

For the teams at the Spanish venue last week, it is all about the success of reaching the prestigious final and the battle for the coveted Furusiyya title, which brings with it the richest Nations Cup prize fund in the world. In the end, the sizzling hot flying Dutchmen stormed to victory. On the crest of a wave following their gold medal-winning performances at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy last month, the Netherlands oozed class and confidence as they put the result beyond doubt with fabulous clears from their first three riders.