FOR several years now, the people of Cork have been petitioning for a revised map of Ireland. This new world order would see their Rebel County as the centre of all things (sorry Athlone!) and all other counties performing perfunctory side-kick roles.

Unfortunately for Cork, such demands are not being met (budget cuts in the Department of Mapping, they say) and so the Emerald Isle remains happily unscathed.

However, last weekend did see Cork, namely Ballindenisk, at the centre of the eventing world. The Fell family hosted a superbly run event. Ground conditions throughout the weekend were excellent, and riders were presented with a super track, asking a fair number of questions across all the levels.

As a member of Ireland’s Nations Cup team, I was fortunate to be a guest at Friday night’s welcome dinner. Competitors and management indulged in a mealtime spread worthy of many superlatives…the best home cooking; the tastiest mealtime; the most mouth-watering etc. It was with full bellies and happy hearts that riders retired to a food-induced slumber.

An early alarm call on Saturday morning heralded the beginning of the weekend’s real action.

Mine was set to be a busy one, with four horses as eager travelling companions. BLM Diamond Delux (Murphy) and Horseware Stellor Rebound (Rocket) would contest the CICO*** competition, with Rocket a part of the Nation’s Cup team and Westwinds Karlos (Charlie) and DHI Okey Cokey (Coco) battling it out in the CICO* competition.

This year has seen Rocket go from strength to strength across all three disciplines. Our dressage score of 43.2 saw us hold a top placing going into jumping day.

I could not have asked more of my treasured horse, as he produced a beautiful clear show jumping round and was an absolute powerhouse cross-country. In the past I have struggled a little with the brakes during Rocket’s cross-country rounds, but this would now seem a thing of the past. His natural technique is one of speed across the fences and, happily, all of this energy is now a positive. I am truly excited as to what the future holds for us both.

We completed our Ballindenisk outing with an individual second place, a final tally that aided the Irish team in securing a Nation’s Cup second place.

The future looks bright for Irish eventing, with my team-members also aboard horses just coming into the peak of their careers. Sam Watson’s Horseware Lukeswell, Aoife Clark’s Arco BB and Joseph Murphy’s Westwinds Hercules are all 10-year-olds so time is on our side.

BLM Diamond Delux performed consistently over the weekend, jumping clear and just picking up a few time faults cross-country. I am mindful of this being only his second event in more than 12 month and so I am happy with his progress rate to date. However, as with all horses there is room for improvement.

The next stop for Rocket and Murphy will be Chatsworth International Horse Trials (May 15th-17th). This event is regarded as a strong test of horses’ stamina. With this in mind, I expect to be a regular visitor at the gallops over the coming weeks.

My two, CICO* horses also played a blinder. Alice and Barry Kehoe’s Westwinds Karlos (by French Buffet and out of a Porter Rhodes mare) was foot-perfect all weekend, finishing third in his first ever international. I hold this horse in such high esteem and I am convinced he has a dazzling future ahead. DHI Okey Cokey slotted into fourth place behind her stable-mate, a mere one point separating them both.

A world away from eventing, the Stellor yard has just welcomed its first racehorse into training. This happy little gelding was sent to me with the aim of improving his jumping technique. Such an approach to racehorse training seems to be gaining ground, with some trainers realising that jumping ability is not something that can just be assumed.

I spend months training my eventing horses how to jump; if asked, they will all hop over a pole from day one but the devil is truly in the detail when it comes to jumping. Horses that spend too long in the air, or who are slow in moving away from the landing spot will lose valuable time (and time is what counts on the racecourse). Fortunately with some dedicated training, these are all skills that offer the potential for vast improvement.

On the subject of racing, I was sorry to hear of A.P. McCoy’s retirement from the world of racing. With a career total of more than 4,000 winners, his decision to bow out cannot have been one that was taken lightly.

However, there comes a point where all professional athletes need to consider their retirement from their chosen sport. Unfortunately, this comes around a lot quicker than for our non-sporting friends.

On a more positive note, the privilege of spending a lifetime in the world of professional equestrianism does offer further opportunities; whether in training, management or producing. I have no doubt that A.P. will be putting his well-earned skills to great use, and look forward to hearing of his new adventures.

Finally, let me wish the very best to Moss Star, Carmel and Orlagh Keenan’s little ball of eventing energy. Mossy will be winding his way to a very excited Fiona McKenzie in England, where he is sure to have found his forever home. Fiona is one of the stalwarts behind Withington Manor Horse Trials. As such, I imagine there will be no shortage of outings for this very talented gelding. Best of luck to them both.

Sarah Ennis is an international event rider based in Co Meath where she and her husband Niki run Stellor Sport Horses