STEVEN Smith hit the magic number of 1,000 rides since the start of the 2011 season at Frankfort Stud last Sunday when Gareth and Susan O’Shea’s King-Paola finished sixth, on his dressage score, in Section B of the EI100.

This was outing number 11 for the combination since mid-April and the six-year-old Starpower gelding, who has recorded three wins, is just one of many young horses that the Smith Brothers Eventing team have produced this year.

“We have so many horses in the yard that I have to ride at two events most weekends,” said Smith. “It works out well to ride the higher graded, more experienced horses at one venue and then the youngsters at another. All our owners deserve to have their horses given the same attention and the best chance for success and if that means two events each weekend, so be it.

“We try to work closely with our owners to help them achieve their goals, whether this is for us to compete or to sell their horse.

“We discuss all entries with them, trying to ensure that it suits them to go and see their horses compete. We have mornings where owners come and socialise and watch all the horses work. I try to make owning horses in our yard an enjoyable experience and I think that is why we have so many faithful long-term clients.”

Steven is competing more of the yard’s young horses these days as elder brother Trevor has stepped away from that duty to oversee the training and production of all horses in the yard and any sales.

He also trains the yard’s pupils such as Junior rider Sarah O’Shea who is based there with her own horses.

One rider who has had a long association with the yard is Casey Webb. “I realised some time ago that I cannot keep riding forever,” said Steven, “and I have been training Casey since she was 10 years old with the view that she was to follow on and take over me. She has taken on more of the riding and production of horses over the last few years, and our plan is to build her up to senior level.”

Steven is passionate about training young riders. “I started all my coaching through our local Pony Club Branch, the Iveaghs, to whom Trevor and I are very loyal. Because of Covid-19, I haven’t held any clinics for well over a year but, with restrictions now lifting and the expansions of our facilities at home, both Trevor and I will be hosting clinics in the near future.”

Busy weekend

Smith started his weekend at Loughanmore where he rode half of the six runners in the EI115 (Open). He won, on his dressage score, with the European championships-bound Galwaybay Echo (26.4), finished third with Newferry Jagermeister (37.3), who picked up 1.6 cross-country time penalties, and was fifth on HHF Elegance (46.7) who had a pole down show jumping.

Steven made the most of his one ride in the five-runner EI110 (Open), completing on his impressive dressage score of 19.5 with Virginia Maguire’s nine-year-old home-bred September Storm gelding Handsome Starr who was following up on his win at the same level at Hazeldene.

Alex Houston, who had earlier partnered Skyfall Echo (29.6) to finish second to Smith and Galwaybay Echo in the EI115 (Open), found herself, and her six-year-old home-bred Beach Ball gelding Atlantic Rockstar (30.5) also filling the runner-up slot behind the Gilford rider in the EI110.

Here, Smith was on board his own all-the-way winner Urneypark Big Cat (26.7), the six-year-old Mr Big Cat gelding winning for the third time at this level.

In this 10-runner class, Smith, Houston and six other riders faulted over the Aaron McCusker-built show jumping track. Jonny Steele left all the poles intact on Red Raclette but then left out one of the cross-country fences.

At Frankfort Stud on Sunday, Smith won Section A of the EI100 on Janet Hall’s six-year-old Mr Big Cat mare, Kitten Touch (27.5) who was also successful at Tullymurry in July.

For good measure, he also placed second with Tessa Westbrook’s three-time winner Lavori, a five-year-old I’m Special de Muze gelding who led after dressage on 26.3 but picked up 1.6 costly cross-country time penalties.

Things didn’t go entirely his own way however as, in Section B, Smith had to settle for second, on his first phase score (26), with the six-year-old Jaguar Mail gelding Jaguar Blues. Here the winner was another busy rider, Newcastle, Co Dublin-based Ian Cassells, who completed on his impressive dressage score with BDE Olympic Royale (18.8).

Gerry and Fiona Leahy’s five-year-old Orestus mare, who won an EI105 at Kilguilkey last month, was bred in Co Wexford by Leo Carty out of Shannondale Silver, a daughter of Cavalier Royale.