THIS year’s World Breeding Federation for Sport Horse (WBFSH) eventing rankings are building up to a close-ran race, according to the penultimate results released last week. The August rankings show the Irish Sport Horse studbook gained a narrow lead in the eventing category over the KWPN, due to an epic Burghley for Irish-breds. In the show jumping division, the ISH studbook remains in 14th place.

For the past 22 out of 24 years, the Irish studbook has claimed the eventing title. However as the rankings enter the closing stages of the WBFSH’s calendar year, just 27 points now separate the ISH and the KWPN, its nearest rival. In fact the Dutch studbook has recorded its strongest results in the WBFSH rankings in recent years, as the KWPN also tops the latest dressage and show jumping pecking orders.

With just the September results to add, including the World Equestrian Games outcome at Tryon, a shake-up in this year’s eventing title may be on the cards when the final results are announced in early October. Results from the FEI Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games back in 2010 saw the Hanoverian studbook capturing the Irish Sport Horse’s long-held title that year.

In the previous WBFSH results for July, the Irish Sport Horse studbook (938 points) had trailed the KWPN (1034) despite some strong performances earlier this season. Oliver Townend had kicked off a year of early promise with his win at the opening four-star at Kentucky with Cooley Master Class (Ramiro B x Master Imp. Breeder: John Hagan).

The fact that it required such an impressive result by Irish-breds at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials for the ISH studbook to overtake the KWPN in the latest rankings is significant. Rated as having the toughest cross-country course amongst the six four-star events held in the world, Burghley’s top-three places were filled by Ringwood Sky Boy (Courage II x Sky Boy. Myles Mahon), Ballaghmor Class (Courage II x Young Convinced. Noel Hickey) and Swallow Springs (Chillout x Cult Hero. Maria Keating).

Ballaghmor Class, last year’s Burghley winner, followed up on his breakthrough result with fifth place back in May at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials. In comparison to other Olympics and championship years, there are relatively few Irish-bred event horses on Tryon teams this year after the surprise omission of Townend, and his team of ISH horses.

The sole Irish Sport Horse on the British team is Piggy French’s horse Quarrycrest Echo (Clover Echo x Cavalier Royale. John Dooley) and while his teammate Arctic Soul (Luso x Roi Danzig. Michael Whitty) was bred in Wexford, the thoroughbred is ineligible for WBFSH points.

SHARP CONTRAST

Unusually for the United States eventing team, there are no Irish horses on the home side at Tryon. This is in sharp contrast to Normandy four years ago when Trading Aces (Coevers Diamond Boy x Leabeg. Patrick Minogue) and Ballynoecastle RM (Ramiro B x Blue Laser. Sylvester Cullen) were selected for the US team, plus the individual horse, Fernhill Fearless (Mark Twain).

Looking at the individual rankings, their Burghley form has paid dividends here too as Ballaghmor Class (fourth) leads the Irish pack and Ringwood Sky Boy leapfrogs up the rankings to 13th place. Swallow Springs is also on the rise, moving up to 25th and slotting in between the Burghley prizewinners is Fernhill Tabasco (Tabasco Van Erpekom x Porter Rhodes. John Nulty) in 14th place. This 10-year-old received a late WEG call-up for the Australian team with Emma McNab after the withdrawal of the injured Paulank Brockagh (Touchdown x Triggerero. Frank & Paula Cullen).

The closely-bunched pair of Badminton runner-up Cooley SRS (Ramiro B x Kiltealy Spring. John Fitzhenry) and U.S-based Islandwood Captain Jack (Jack of Diamonds x Touchdown. Gerard O’Connor) complete the current top Irish-breds in 26th and 27th places respectively.

The current top-ranked event horse is the Australian horse Balmoral Opposition, ahead of the Dutch-bred Zenshera, by Guidam and Reve Du Rouet (OLD).

The KWPN has bounced back after several years of being eclipsed by its Benelux and Holsteiner neighbours to top this season’s show jumping rankings, since the WBFSH started publishing the 2018 results from April. The Dutch continue to retain their comfortable lead (7,791 points) in the ranking’s final stretch, ahead of the BWP (6,865) and Selle Français (6,434) studbooks.

The current top-ranked show jumping horse is Harrie Smolders’s ride Zinius (Nabab de Reve x Kannan. Breeder: M.M.A. Everse) for the KWPN, ahead of Fine Lady 2 (HANN) and Toveks Mary Lou (WESTF).

Ranked 145th individually, Luibanta BH (Luidam x Abantos. Justin Burke) lines out next week in Tryon with British rider Amanda Derbyshire and is best of the Irish Sport Horse team in the August rankings. The longtime Irish stalwart Limestone Grey (Try-Time. David Moran) had his most recent outing at Zandhoven, ridden by Belgium’s Emilie Conter and now ranks 156th.

Paddy Quirke’s good servants feature as the sires of the next-highest Irish-breds; Cartown Danger Mouse (Harlequin Du Carel. Paul Kennedy) and Rocksy Music (Ars Vivendi. Stephen Keane) in 235th and 271st places. Lapuccino 2 (Livello. Sven Kapp) and A Touch Imperious (Touchdown. Peter Rice) round off the half-dozen in 303rd and 331st position.

INTRIGUING BATTLE

And what of the Irish-bred ‘millionaire mare’, Suma’s Zorro (VDL Douglas x Horos. Susie Lanigan-O’Keeffe & Marily Power)? Her emphatic victory last Sunday with Egypt’s Sameh El Dahen in the $3m CP International at Spruce Meadows is the latest in a dream year for her connections and is sure to improve her current 32nd place in next month’s final horse rankings. With Suma’s Zorro registered with the Anglo European Studbook (AES), that 10th-placed studbook is set to pick up those bonus points.

However, even in the hypothetical situation of Suma’s Zorro being registered as an Irish Sport Horse, her tally would still not have been sufficient to peg back the Deutsches Sportpferde (DSP) in 13th place. That is how competitive the rankings have become and the Dutch studbook, which has four of the current top-10 horses (Zinius (first), Explosion W (fifth), Bintang II (eighth) and Eddie Blue (10th) in its team, demonstrates the ‘closely packed’ strategy needed to win the studbook titles.

The 2018 victors will be known in early October and on whatever basis – points, prize money and prestige – rankings are based on, this year’s WBFSH contest is an intriguing one.

Will the Irish Sport Horse studbook retain its eventing title or could there be an unprecedented KWPN treble?