NORTHERN Region member Jonny Mulligan prevented Michael Ryan landing a double at Lightsource Tyrella (1) on Saturday when he partnered Mervyn Gibson’s Randalstown Commando to victory in Section A of the EI110 class.

The seven-year-old Ricardo Z gelding, who completed on his dressage score (28.8 penalties) as did the Ryan-partnered Classicals Fortune (29.3), has been produced by Mulligan since his four-year-old days, successfully competing in young event horse classes as well as under EI rules. The combination took part in the training sessions for Le Lion d’Angers last year but, disappointingly, weren’t among the three selected to travel.

Sarah Ennis led after dressage (25.5) with husband Niki Potterton’s highly-regarded home-bred Stellor Quick Change but a fence down show jumping put paid to their chances as they dropped to third.

There were 30 runners in that half and in Section B where Ennis again had to settle for third, this time on Shanbo Sky Fall who completed on her dressage score (24.3) as did the Commandant Terence White-ridden Garrybritt Dignified (22.3) and the winning combination of Katie O’Sullivan on J’Taime Cooley (22). That Cooley Farms-owned Je T’Aime Flamenco mare, who won at this level last season, was bred in Co Derry by Brian Hutchinson out of the Dutch Warmblood mare P.Zermie.

There were 17 starters in the Open novice class where, as competitors, there was a good result for the Lightsource team with Ella Boyle finishing first and fourth, on her dressage scores, with her mother Amanda’s Grafenstolz Distinction (28.5) and Candy 737 (29.5).

The winning eight-year-old Grafenstolz gelding, who was having his first eventing outing since last year’s Tattersalls International, was bred in Britain by Katie Carr out of the Merit mare Spring Distinction who evented herself for five seasons.

There were large entries also in the EI100 class where Cooley Farms brought up a double in Section A through the Bethany Burton-ridden Offshore Cooley who added four show jumping penalties to his winning dressage score (24.5). A newcomer to EI, the seven-year-old, who came from Paul Hendrix about three months ago, is by Cabachon, a son of Casall.

Adam Haugh finished second (29.8) on the debutante Carsonstown Cruise, a five-year-old mare by Casdorff out of Tyrella Cruise, while Brian Morrison slotted into third with the year-older Global Iminnus W (30.5). Morrison was rewarded for his journey up from Co Cork, and Global Event Horses’ new yard in Cork, he landed Section B with Global Harley D (32.5).

There seemed little reason to split the EI90 class, other than to suit the multiple riders, but there were two delighted, if contrasting, winners in Helen Cunningham with her 15-year-old mare Leitrim Native Choice in Section A and, in Section B, first-time Tyrella visitor Nicky Roncoroni with her five-year-old OBOS Quality 004 gelding Sixmilewater.