FRENCH Accordion had a rather low-key start to his eventing career last Sunday when finishing 26th of 33 in the EI 90 class at Grove under Kim Rohan.

The 15-year-old Accordion gelding didn’t receive the best of scores for his work in the dressage arena (41 penalties) but he show jumped clear, which many former racehorses fail to do, before picking up 16 time penalties around the cross-country course. The class was won on his dressage mark of 23.8 by the Sofie Walshe-partnered Kinsau, a six-year-old Indian Danehill gelding who ran once in January 2014, pulling up in a Tinahely maiden won by Blaklion.

Sixteen-year-old Walshe, who represented Ireland this year at the European pony dressage championships in Sweden, had earlier finished fourth in one of the Junior classes on the nine-year-old Great Palm gelding Heisacoolhand who won a confined maiden at Stradbally in April 2012.