EVENTING

Susan Finnerty

If it was a remarkable return to form for the British eventing team, between a gold medal triumph at the European championships, it was an equally outstanding result at the Lincolnshire event last weekend when British riders, all on Irish-bred horses, filled the top-three places.

One of only six four-star events held in the world, Burghley’s cross-country course has the reputation of being the toughest of the lot and it was Ballaghmor Class and his Yorkshire-born rider Oliver Townend who rose to the top after a weekend of drama.

Bred in Co Limerick by Noel Hickey, the winner is by Cooley Rorkes Drift’s sire Courage II. Piggy French’s runner-up Vanir Kamira, bred in Co Monaghan by Kathryn Jackson, is by another warmblood sire Camiro de Haar Z. Completing the British clean sweep was Gemma Tattersall on the ex-racehorse Arctic Soul, bred by Michael Whitty.

Clare Abbott and her Rio Olympics horse Euro Prince, by Lougheries Quiet Man, finished best of the three Irish riders in 13th place, while Gain Horse Feeds UK-based Alan Nolan was 27th with Bronze Flight.

Sarah Ennis, best of the Irish riders at the European Championships, was in 13th place after dressage. However, BLM Diamond Delux was withdrawn with a shoulder muscle injury picked up on cross-country day.

YOUNG EVENT HORSE FINAL

There was another Irish-bred win in the Dubarry young event horse finals at Burghley when River Lodge Equestrian’s RLE Poynstown Stonehaven, by KEC Maximum Joe, won Friday’s five-year-old decider with Tracey Walshe on board.

Both this Goresbridge Go For Gold buy and Ballaghmor Class are graduates of the young event horse series here. The highest-placed Irish-bred in the Dubarry four-year-old final was the Harry Meade-ridden Castle Howard Octavian, by Emperor Augustus. Bred by Susan Fitzpatrick in Avoca, she also bred the recent Dublin working hunter champion Castle Howard Romeo.