TOP amateur riders Derek O’Connor and Jamie Codd have been named in the Ireland team for the Bicester Office Park Anglo-Irish Point-to-Point Challenge at Kingston Blount in Oxfordshire on Friday, May 26th.

They join Barry O’Neill, this season’s leading rider in Ireland, and Noel McParlan in the men’s team, with theteam based on the top four places in the championship.

O’Neill is no stranger to success on British shores, having partnered the Warren Greatrex-trained Paint The Clouds to victory in the Stratford Champion Hunters’ Chase last May.

McParlan will be making his debut in the challenge, but has been one of the leading riders in the Emerald Isle for a number of years, and is on course to be crowned northern champion for a third time.

Lisa O’Neill who won the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham last month with Tiger Roll, will feature in Ireland’s ladies’ team, having also won the Kerry National at Listowel in September aboard Wrath Of Titans.

The line-up is completed by Shauna Larkin, Liz Lalor and Maxine O’Sullivan.

Larkin, a newcomer to the challenge, leads the way in the lady riders’ table, thanks largely due to a very productive campaign aboard Rosc Catha, a horse owned and trained by her family.

Lalor is a five-time ladies’ champion, while O’Sullivan has captured the title twice.

Richard Pugh, of P2P.ie, said: “The Anglo-Irish Challenge has really become a very popular event on both sides of the Irish Sea in what has been a very short time since its inception.

“We have a very strong Irish team heading over to Kingston Blount this year, and it is great that it is another new venue for the event to visit.”

Meeting chairman Rodney Mann commented: “It is really good to see the top point-to-point amateurs in Ireland coming over and it will be a pleasure to welcome them to Kingston Blount.

“We expect to see some very competitive racing.”

The British team is due to be named early next month, with the top three men and ladies in the national standings earning selection plus one wildcard for each gender, with the aim of providing an opportunity for riders from all over the country.