COOLEY Farm graduates had a great weekend on the international eventing scene, highlighted by the CIC3* win at Belton Park of Jonty Evans and Cooley Rorkes Drift. The Co Wicklow operation struck at Tyrella in Section A of the EI100 where Katie O’Sullivan recorded an all-the-way success on J’Taime Cooley, the Brian Hutchinson-bred six-year-old mare by Je T’Aime Flamenco who was having her third start on Saturday.

Eva Melly also led from start to finish in Section B, claiming the honours on Heidi Haenschke’s six-year-old Ramiro B gelding Wolf Ardeo Vegas. The winner was bred by Emmet O’Gorman who evented the bay’s dam, Leicklin Miss Z (by Ricardo Z), in amateur classes.

Making her seasonal debut, Co Louth’s Millie Bell recorded her first EI success in the EI100J class where all but two of the 10 starters completed on their dressage scores. Bell was on board her mother Sharon’s Grade C jumper Hillview Quality Control, a seven-year-old OBOS Quality 004 gelding who was bred by William Kennedy.

Another rider to make all on Saturday was Tom Rowlatt-McCormick who recorded the only sub-30 score in the EI100P class with his mother Fran’s 16-year-old Jobanker Mystic Mink gelding Mon Ami Tonnerre. The winner, who was bred in Co Down by Trevor McCabe, is out of the Master Imp mare Drumgiven Imp whose half-brother by Centre Stage, Up On Stage, won a Balmoral young event horse qualifier last week at Lusk EC.

There were 24 starters in the EI90 class but the only rider to receive a dressage mark of over 70% from Mark Robinson was Tola Thompson. She went on to win on a penalty score of 28.5 with her new ride for the 2018 EI campaign, the British-bred 12-year-old gelding Crackerjack VIII.

Maynooth’s Julia Adams, the latest member of her family to compete under EI rules, made a winning debut in the EI90P with the 14-year-old chesnut gelding Toberpatrick Flash, completing on their first phase score (26.5).