LAST Saturday’s renewal of the Golden Button Challenge, a three-mile cross-country race over 25 natural fences in Gloucestershire, attracted a large group of Irish riders to the Ledbury Hunt country.

Among the many Irish-bred horses in the race was Lightning Tunes who, under Nile O’Rourke, won an older geldings’ maiden at Tinahely in January for the Peter Maher yard. The eight-year-old Milan gelding was well-fancied on Saturday being partnered by former National Hunt jockey turned international show jumper, Paul Carberry, winner of the Challenge in 2009.

Also in the 43-strong line-up was Carberry’s cousin, bloodstock agent J.D. Moore who rode over 180 point-to-point winners until retiring in 2015 and was Eastern champion in 2003. The pair were going well until the 16th where J.D. was fired into the face of the hedge by his mount. This caused Lighting Tunes to be distracted and he landed on top of the hedge, unseating Carberry.

Paul remounted but his chance of victory was gone and he finished 23rd, a place in front of Caulfield Cup-winning trainer Ciaron Maher whose trip from Australia took in a day’s hunting on Monday with Carberry and the Ward Union.

Among the travelling Irish contingent who finished was Mitchelstown’s Louise O’Brien who won two golden buttons for being the highest-placed overseas rider in seventh and for partnering the top-placed non-thoroughbred horse, her homebred mare A Kept Woman.

Flat jockey Gary Carroll, who hunts regularly with the Kildare Foxhounds and won their hunter performance huntsman class in 2016, finished 15th although he too was unseated when his horse was baulked at the 16th fence. However, Gary won a Golden Button as he hunted with the Ledbury on Friday, attended that night’s ball, completed Saturday’s Challenge and the following fun run over the three-mile course.

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Farrier Shane Crabb, who also hunts with the Kildares, finished 17th, just in front of international event rider and young horse producer Dominic Furnell who is heavily involved with the Limerick Harriers. Dominic completed Badminton last year so, after Saturday, just needs to tick Burghley and the Olympics off his bucket list!

T.J. Foley from the Carlow country came home in 21st place, Fergus Lawlor who was representing the Carlow Farmers and Laois Hunt finished 27th with William Flood, who was one of the youngest competitors, placing 28th. Another who hunts with the Kildares, William produces a lot of young horses and takes part in hunt chases.

Not all of those who travelled over managed to complete. Peter Maher, the trainer of Lightning Tunes, pulled up his mount at the 16th fence while also failing to reach the finish line was Randalstown’s Sean McCavana who hunts with the Holestone Farmers Bloodhounds Hunt Club.

Another of our international event riders in the Challenge was Meath-born but Tipperary-based Daragh Byrne who has spent the last two years working with Paul Donovan in Fethard but has now set up his own yard in the locality.

Daragh was supported at the Challenge by his father James and mother Leila, the latter taking a photograph of her 6’ 2” son standing in the ditch in the take-off side of fence 11. The 21-year-old and Kat Hopkins’s Lisroe Warrior, an eight-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding by West Coast Cavalier, cleared that obstacle with ease but came a cropper at fence 22.

Successful in the inaugural running of the race in 2006, Yvonne Goss became the first dual winner of the Challenge when home in front on her ex-racehorse Untilla Legend. The ten-year-old Midnight Legend gelding had a one-race career, finishing ninth of 11 in a Huntingdon bumper in November 2013.