SAINTFIELD’s Ella Boyle, usual rider of Candy 737, watched Joseph Murphy partner the mare to victory in the CNC* class at Finvoy on Saturday before heading off the next morning to Badminton as assistant groom for Sportsfield Othello and Electric Cruise.

The frustrating, if wise, decision to change riders came about following Candy 737’s early retirement on the cross-country course in the junior one-star class at Tyrella (3). The seven-year-old and Boyle had earlier finished third and second at Tyrella (1) and Lisgarvan so, hopefully, they will be reunited in competition shortly.

The rider’s father Nick Boyle, commentator on Saturday along with Peter Quirke, revealed that they purchased the mare last summer from German international Dirk Schrade and that Ella, now a working pupil with Murphy, then spent a few weeks training with Karl Reiter before moving to England. Candy 737 is by the Holstein Captain Fire, a son of Contendro I, out of the Westfalian mare Falkenhofs Revue.

In Saturday’s 25-runner class, she completed on her dressage score of 26 ahead of the Elizabeth Power-ridden Reenmore Duke whose total of 30.5 included four show jumping penalties. Murphy finished on the same score to place third with his own seven-year-old Master Imp mare The Mistress.

The Maddybenny winners, Alex Houston and Skyfall Echo, led after the flat work phase on 24.3 but dropped down the order with eight show jumping penalties and six for time across the country.

None of the 23 starters over the fixed fences accrued jumping penalties but just six got home within the time.

Emma Kennedy and Nauvoo were one of five combinations to follow up recent successes, their victory coming in the 11-runner CNCJ* class where they added 4.8 cross-country time penalties to their winning dressage score of 24. Lucy Lamont was narrowly beaten into second with Mellow Gold (29.9).

competing

Kennedy purchased Nauvoo over the winter from Carol Gee but the eight-year-old Clover Echo gelding spent most of his career competing in the Northern Region. The Athlone rider was also rewarded for her journey north the previous weekend when winning at Maddybenny.

It was disappointing to see Lucy Arkwright retire as early as fence four, the Log Splash, with Sally McNally.

The Tyrella (4) winners Izzy Riley and Monarch Of The Glen saw off their sole rivals, Hannah Adams on Myshall Rodge, to win the CNCP** class on their dressage score (28.3). Izzy’s brother Cameron did sterling work as slip collector throughout the day.

Also doubling up on their Tyrella (4) win were the very consistent Nutts Corner pairing of Charlotte Harding and Georgia Stubington’s 17-year-old grey mare Winterfold Ivy (31.5).

Even with a fence down show jumping, they had over four points in hand over Katie Good and Keltroy (35.6) who picked up 4.8 expensive cross-country time penalties.

Ballyclare’s Holly Wray brought up a hat trick, which was started at Ballyvannon last October, when landing the EI 100J class with Stewart Colville’s homebred Ballinvella Lad mare Grannys Double.

On their second outing together, Zara Mulholland filled the runner-up slot with the 15-year-old chesnut gelding Villa Imp (33.5). Both first and second had a fence down show jumping.

Winner of the EI 90 at Maddybenny on his eventing debut the previous Saturday, David Henderson’s home-bred Balou du Rouet gelding Ultimate Jack successfully upgraded to EI 100 level on Saturday.

Ridden by Beverley Caves, as throughout his show jumping career, the six-year-old completed on his winning dressage score of 28.5 penalties. Leah Knight was none the worse when suffering the day’s only fall with Ollie at fence three, the Primrose Bank.

Maghaberry’s Fiona Fitzgibbon, who runs Sky Sport Horses with partner Phillip McLean, won the EI 90 class with Lisnahall Miss Toffee, the 10-year-old Song Of Freedom mare completing on her dressage score of 34 penalties.

This was a fourth outing for the combination who had finished second on their other three starts. Fitzgibbon has been riding the pony for Hillsborough’s Kay Magill whose 12-year-old daughter Kerry is due to take over the ride at Glenpatrick next Saturday.

Nadine McClelland led after dressage with Lucey (29.8) but had a fence down show jumping before picking up cross-country time penalties while Stacey Watling, who was on 31.8 after the first phase with So Porsch, had a stop at fence nine, the Lane Drop.

The same fence saw Emma Lappin retire with last year’s winner of the class, Bat Out Of Hell, and in spite of a black-flag option, there were two eliminations at 12, the two-part Hay Rack.