THE Cooley Farm team of owner Richard Sheane and rider Bethany Burton had horses to inspect in the North on Saturday afternoon so didn’t have time to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere at Knockany.

However, before they left Lusk Equestrian Centre, Burton won the CNC* class with Tks Cooley, whose total of 29.8 included a single show jumping time penalty. The six-year-old Vivaldo van het Costersveld gelding won the dressage phase ahead of his stable-companion, Cooley Monsoon (29.5), who was schooled around the cross-country following an early blip on the course.

“Tks Cooley was class all day,” said the rider, who was paying her first visit to the venue.

“There wasn’t a great distance between the two elements of seven but that didn’t faze him and, for a horse with such little experience eventing, he has had a great season.

“Even though he is older, my other horse is still very green.

“That was his first start at this level and his was a novice mistake.”

Winner of the EI100 national championship at Tattersalls last month, Jennifer Saunders’s Cooley Monsoon was set to join the Northamptonshire yard of Piggy French this week but Sheane said he was holding on to the winner – for the present at least.

LAST RUN

“I’d say that’s his last run of the season,” added the Co Wicklow owner of Tks Cooley, who was bred in Co Longford by Thomas Killian.

“He’ll have a bit of a break now and then do some show jumping over the winter. He is out of Badgerhill Cruise (by Cruising), who Clem McMahon won a silver medal on at Lanaken.”

Surprisingly, Sheane didn’t head down to Ballindenisk on Sunday but he hadn’t given himself a day off, being at Killossery Lodge Stud that evening to show horses to English clients en route from the Co Cork event to Dublin Port.

Neil Morrison completed on his dressage score of 35.8 to finish second on Saturday with the good-looking Shannador, and Tracy Watling did likewise to place second on Magheradrummond Lad (36).

Although the only entry in the O/CNC* class, Sadhbh McGrath was pleased with her outing on the attractive Chacoa grey Bridgemans Cocoa Malt.