Horse Sport Ireland EI 110 (J)
TOM Rowlatt-McCormick, who had a disappointing trip to Segersjo in Sweden with Mon Ami Alme for the European Junior eventing championships last month, bounced back to win the HSI EI110 (J) at the Horse Sport Ireland Eventing Ireland National Championship in Lisgarvan last weekend.
The 16-year-old was lying second after dressage on 29.9 penalties behind fellow Co Down resident, Lucy McIlroy riding Major Black (24.2). However, later on Saturday, although he picked up 0.8 of a time penalty in the show jumping ring, he went into the lead on his mother Fran’s 13-year-old home-bred Adam VI gelding as McIlroy, through poles down and time penalties, dropped right down the seven-runner field.
On cross-country Sunday, when one of five combinations clear within the time, Rowlatt-McCormick recorded his first success with Mon Ami Alme (30.7) since bringing up a hat-trick at Loughanmore last year.
Jude Donohue and Poynstown Cubby were the only ones to complete on the dressage score they were awarded by Clare Fitzsimons and Derval Diamond, finishing second on 34.2, while Holly Love slotted into third with DSL Allegra whose total of 34.6 included four show jumping penalties.
“The year has gone very quickly after a slow start with Covid,” commented Rowlatt-McCormick who was one of the younger riders who enjoyed the social aspect of the Nationals on Saturday night.
“We’ve come on in all three phases, particularly dressage. We had a great result at Millstreet and then got the call for Junior Europeans in Sweden. We did well in the dressage but the cross-country did not go to plan! Hopefully we will get to have another try in 2022.
“It was good to have a cracking run at Lisgarvan and the win was a bonus. The cross-country track on Sunday required focus all the way through and the time was tight enough. Now, it’s back to Friends School Lisburn and maybe a bit of rugby although, if we can fit in an Intermediate run before the season’s end, that would be fun.”
There were 26 starters in the Eventing Ireland EI100 (J) where Bryan Bourke completed on the winning dressage score he was awarded by Paula Geiger and Sarah Jane Doyle with his father Donal’s five-year-old OBOS Quality 004 gelding, Killea Quality Cruise (27.1).
Cliodhna Brennan also finished on her flat work mark with the unraced thoroughbred Road To Emmaus (31.2) and Anna Corinne White did likewise on Kilcoltrim Dora (31.4) to finish second and third.
In fact, 10 of the top 11 combinations on the final leaderboard remained unpenalised after dressage with just two pairings failing to complete all three phases and one of them was withdrawn before show jumping.
The Bourkes purchased Killea Quality Cruise as a three-year-old at Goresbridge and last season the chesnut competed in two EI90 and two EI100 (J) classes, being placed on three occasions. He was also campaigned in the truncated four-year-old Young Eventhorse Series, finishing second.
This year Bryan Bourke competed Killea Quality Cruise in the RDS Junior/Young Rider event horse series where they won three qualifiers but, disappointingly, failed to feature in the final at Lambertstown. This national championship success was the rider’s first win since he landed an EI110 (P) at Tattersalls in August 2019 on Cillbhrid Pippa with whom he was a reserve for the European pony championships.
Seventeen-year-old Bourke, who has now started Sixth Year at Our Lady’s Secondary School in Templemore, plays a bit of football and hurling for his local GAA club.