ANOTHER Irish rider who came close to repeating a back-to-back Grand Prix win was Longford’s Aisling Byrne who finished runner-up in the Irish Horse Gateway amateur final at Liverpool International Horse Show last Sunday.

The winner last year with Wellview Classic Dream (ISH), Byrne was the first rider into the ring for the two-phase contest, riding Chloe Aston’s Celeste SPB Z, and produced a super fast clear round in 27.16 seconds to hold the lead for almost the entire class.