JONNY Steele recorded his first win of the season when Zermatt won the Horse Sport Ireland EI110 eventing series qualifier at Knockany on Saturday and then doubled up when landing the EI100 on Boss Quality.

One of four horses competing on the day by Steele’s oft-time partner Centre Stage, Zermatt led after dressage (31.3) and was never headed, although picking up 0.8 of a cross-country time penalty. Clare Abbott completed on her first phase score to take second with the bang-in-form Malcolm X (33.5) while 2.4 cross-country time penalties proved expensive for the third-placing pairing of Robbie Collins and Dunrath Navigator (34.2).

The cleverly-named Zermatt was bred by his Killinchy owner, Caroline Keatley, out of the Arc Bright mare Chamonix who competed at the old CIC2* level with Jim Newsam (representing the Irish Sport Horse Studbook at Le Lion d’Angers in 2006) and is dam previously of the Clerkenwell gelding Clerkson (CCI2-*L).

“I broke this fellow for Caroline but he is a very tall horse and has taken time to mature,” said Steele of the bay seven-year-old who only started eventing last year and was winning for the first time on Saturday.

“I plan on taking him to Punchestown for the final of these series and will then target the Ballindenisk international.”

Boss Quality (23.8 penalties), owned by Knockany’s resident bloodstock and sport horse agent Harold Lusk, carried Steele to an impressive, all-the-way win in the EI100. Having won on her last two starts, Hollie Woods was still delighted with her second-place finish on the six-year-old Capri Van Overis gelding Caprio (29) while, on her third start of the season, Hannah Thompson was third with the 10-year-old Loughry Lad mare, Jameela Charm (30).

“This fellow really should be competing at Novice level but, because of the year that’s in it, we have just been bringing him on slowly and this was just his third career start,” said Steele of Boss Quality, a 2014 OBOS Quality 004 gelding who was bred in Co Tipperary by Brian Treacy out of the Clover Fields mare Treacys Clover. “He is careful, brave and straightforward and, as you can see from his mark, his dressage speaks for itself.”

Throughout the day, the Rafael Suarez-designed show jumping tracks caused plenty of problems, particularly at the lower level. However, there weren’t too many over the Luke Drea-designed cross-country tracks which were described as “well-designed and well-thought out” by Steele who added: “The fences tested the riders while the undulations tested the horses’ fitness. Luke did a very good job.”

Making a winning debut as a combination in the EI90 were Lucie Glynn and the US-bred ex-racehorse Barberton, an 11-year-old gelding by Johannesburg. On his previous start, the chesnut had finished third under Kara Stanbridge in last season’s EI100 (J) National Championship at Kilguilkey House.

The winners in the underage classes on Saturday started with Kilkenny’s Sarah O’Donnell who landed the two-runner EI110 (J) on her mother Miriam’s 14-year-old gelding Blessington Prince Royal while Felicity McConnell was the unopposed pony class winner at this level with her mother Joyce’s 11-year-old skewbald gelding, Finding Nemo.

In spite of a pole down show jumping, Abby Cummiskey recorded back-to-back successes in the 15-strong EI100 (J) with Sandi Thompson’s 14-year-old Catherston Gold Storm gelding Crackerjack VIII and Gemma Murphy and Elizabeth Briscoe’s Connemara gelding Sillogue Sergei, a 10-year-old by Westside Mirah, successfully stepped up a level to win the six-strong EI100 (P).

Having finished sixth on their debut as a combination at Loughanmore two weeks earlier, Anna Corine White and her mother Lisa’s nine-year-old Red House Condor mare Creaghduff Annie May saw off 12 rivals as they led from start to finish in the EI90 (P).