TWO German masters of their craft retained their European crowns this year. Isabel Werth and the Westphalian mare Bella Rosa, by Belissimo, claimed dressage gold in Rotterdam, while Ingrid Klimke did likewise on home ground with SAP Hale Bob OLD, the same horse she won her first individual title with at Strezgom two years ago.

Back then, the highest-placed Irish Sport Horse was the VDL Ricochet gelding Stellor Rebound, who placed seventh with Sarah Ennis in 2017. Bettering that and becoming just the fourth Irish individual medal winner at European senior championship level was Rioghan Rua, with Cathal Daniels.

Although diminutive in size and tagged with a 54.49% TB label, Rioghan Rua’s pedigree traces back to the famous thoroughbred lines of Menelek, Battleburn, Imperius, Sky Boy and Wilton House, through her various Swedish and Irish ancestors.

By the Swedish-bred Jack of Diamonds, the 12-year-old also shares the same Irish Draught damsire as British team horse Majas Hope in Flagmount King. This pair were two of 11 Irish Sport Horses in action at Luhmühlen, just one ahead of the Selle Français pack (10).

French-breds fared better with four recorded in the top-10, compared to two Irish-breds in Rioghan Rua and the John Hagan-bred Cooley Master Class (ninth).

However, Irish-breds made up 75% of the silver medal-winning British team this year, with Cooley Master Class (Ramiro B) joined by Quarrycrest Echo (Clover Echo) and Maja’s Hope (Porter Rhodes), bred by John Dooley and Jack Murphy, respectively. Having Oliver Townend, Piggy French and Pippa Funnell on board Irish Sport Horses was priceless advertising in Britain, which despite Brexit jitters, is still the strongest market for Irish-bred horses.

Another good market for Irish horses is Italy, and an honourable mention should go to the Rio Olympics veteran, Barraduff, who recorded another top-20 place at consecutive European championships.

Thirteenth at Strezgom with Pietro Roman, the pair placed 18th this year. The 17-year-old grey was bred by Sheelagh Hickey and is by the thoroughbred Carroll House out of the Sea Crest mare, Crested Vesta VII.

At 71.88% TB, Hale Bob’s pedigree is close to the 75% favoured by several German riders for five-star level. His thoroughbred sire Helikon also produced William Fox-Pitt’s useful horse Seacookie FST, and appearing back in Klimke’s gold medal winner is Final Problem’s sire, Tamerlane.

Contendro I is the only sire to have had two progeny compete at Luhmühlen and one of those is the silver medallist fischerChipmunk FRH.

Similar to his rider Michael Jung’s legendary La Biosthetique Sam, the 11-year-old Hanoverian is out of a Heraldik dam and, at seventh place in the July rankings, is set to climb in the individual leaderboard and boost both the Hanoverian studbook and his sire in the WBFSH rankings.