ANYONE learning to ride at Brennanstown Riding School received massive inspiration last Sunday when the Co Wicklow establishment’s manager and chief instructor, Louise Bloomer, filled the top three placings in the EI115 (Open) at Lisgarvan House.

This second event of the curtailed 2020 season at the Corrigan family’s popular Co Carlow venue saw Bloomer don the No 1 bib on Jinnie Webb’s Shannondale Icarus and the eight-year-old Shannondale Sarco St Ghyvan gelding lived up to his billing by completing on his winning dressage score (19.1 penalties).

The bay had finished second here at the early July fixture which was bypassed by Bloomer’s own Hollybrook High In The Sky but that Puissance gelding, who is now 18 years of age, filled the runner-up spot on Sunday (20.9) ahead of Hollybrook Hotshot (23.4). The last-named, an Ars Vivendi 10-year-old, is jointly owned by the rider and her mother Jane, who, like Webb, was present to groom on Sunday along with Delphine McWhite who works in Brenanstown.

Happy out

“When I came back to the lorry after dressage the first time I said ‘I’m happy with that’, then I said ‘I’m happy again’ twice!” revealed a delighted Bloomer. “It’s pretty amazing to get three good dressage scores in one day never mind in one class.” Those Derval Diamond-awarded flat work marks were to prove crucial as just two of the seven starters erred in the show jumping phase while all came home clear inside the time on the cross-country leg.

“I actually went cross-country first on my old horse as, while just walking along at home the previous day, I had sprained my ankle and wasn’t too sure how it would hold up on Sunday. As it was, everything was fine so it really was a great day. I was keeping an eye too on Aoife Madigan who rode her own horse (Best Choice) in the EI110 and while she had two show jumps down, she was clear across the country.

“I’ve the three horses entered at Ballindenisk and hopefully they will all get to run. I don’t know what I’ll do after that,” continued Bloomer. “It was in the back of my mind at the start of the year to do a five-star with my old horse whose days are numbered but while I’d like to go to Pau, I have to think of the riding school and livery yard as we have been quite strict here with the Covid-19 protocols and I can’t afford to jeopardise the business.”

Just two of the 11 starters in the EI115 also picked up show jumping penalties but here the Brady Brothers-designed cross-country course caused problems for four combinations, all bar one of whom picked up jumping penalties at combination fences.

Ian Cassells led after the John Lyttle-judged dressage phase on a score of 27.5 penalties with Kellys Quality. However, that seven-year-old OBOS Quality 004 gelding, who only started competing under Eventing Ireland rules in early July, having been purchased this time last year at Goresbridge, was one of those who lowered a pole. The lead then passed to Daniel Alderson who won with a double clear on Derena Super Star (27.7).

This was a first success of the season for Richard Ames’s seven-year-old Womanizer gelding who was placed on all three of his previous national starts while, with 4.4 cross-country time penalties, he finished 13th in the CCI3*-S at Kilguilkey. The grey has been entered for the long-format competition at the same level in Ballindenisk.

Having finished second with Kellys Quality (31.5) and third on Woodendfarm Jack O Dee (31.6), Newcastle, Co Dublin-based Cassells went on to win and place third in the Horse Sport Ireland EI110 Series qualifier with Gerry Leahy’s Rosconnell Alto (32.3) and Anne Bannon’s home-bred six-year-old Chippison mare Goresehill Amy (36), both of whom were having their first start at this level.

The mare, who picked up two cross-country time penalties, was placed in two of her three Pre-Novice runs while Rosconnell Alto, a five-year-old gelding by Tabasco Van Erpekom, won second time out at Frankfort Stud.

The Cassells pair were split on Sunday by the more-experienced Ballyneety Rocketman (32.8), a six-year-old Diamond Discovery gelding who was ridden by his owner, Sam Watson.

Aisling Carter and her 16-year-old home-bred Murphys Man gelding Ace Bank Raider recorded their first success since May 2013 when landing the five-runner EI110 (Open) on their winning dressage score.