THE need for young event horse producers to get some experience into their stock in this strangest of seasons saw increased numbers in the Childeric-sponsored classes at the second qualifier in the Stepping Stones to Success league held at Wexford Equestrian on Tuesday.

However, although she faced four more opponents this week, the Dutch Warmblood mare Ardeo Gold again won the final five-year-old division. The bay, ridden by Melanie Wrynn for husband Neil, topped the scores in both the dressage (55.8) and jumping (144.5) phases for a total of 200.3 points.

Six points adrift of the winner, but well clear of the remainder in the 24-runner class, Nicky Roncoroni finished second with Stall Hurst’s grey Harlequin du Carel gelding, Rock ABC. This combination also placed second in the four-year-old section of the Dubarry Burghley young event horse finals last September.

Ardeo Gold, who was bred by Keulen-Wiersma and J.H. Keulen out of the Lupicor mare Aurora, is regarded as being “a bit special” by the Wrynns who sourced the daughter of Numero Uno at the beginning of the year from Fernhill Sport Horses’ Carol Gee.

“She is so professional that, at an unaffiliated event in Rosanna, she never flinched when a loose horse galloped through our dressage arena,” revealed Melanie. “She is extremely straightforward to train and so I have been rather enjoying the journey! The plan would be for her to finish out the Stepping Stones league and, from there, to go show jumping and eventing. We would be aiming to run her in an EI110 before the end of the season.”

As mentioned last week, the Wrynns, and their Ardeo Sport Horses yard, were among those featured in these pages during the lockdown while another was John Bannon who, on Tuesday, narrowly won the Childeric four-year-old qualifier on his own Cullintra Tactical Move.

The Co Meath auctioneer and valuer only received a score of 48.4 points from the day’s dressage judge, Liam Maloney, for his test with the bay but comfortably topped the jumping phase marks (143.5) to take the honours on a total of 191.9. Sara Hakala finished second on the Concreto gelding Lancreto (190.7) who is owned and was bred by the rider’s Finish compatriot, Meri Harrila.

Bannon gave €23,000 for Cullintra Tactical Move at last November’s Goresbridge Go For Gold Sale to which he was consigned unbroken, and under the name Cullintra Quill, by Co Clare’s Michael O’Callaghan. The gelding, who was bred in Co Kilkenny by Larry Hanrahan out of the unraced 2004 Witness Box mare Cullintra Witness, is a member of the second of three Irish crops by the Holstein stallion Quantino who is now jumping at three-star level in Europe with Denis Lynch.

League organisers, Orla Roche and her husband Pat Peare, were delighted with the increased numbers on Tuesday when, with the sun shining throughout, Gillian Kyle joined Ian Fearon to judge the jumping phase of the young event horse classes.

Roche and Peare have gone to great lengths to comply with Covid-19 protocols since they were introduced with plenty of hand-sanitisers in place throughout their Wexford Equestrian complex while there is a one-way system through The Meadows Café where no sitting is allowed.

Back-to-back

A second combination to record back-to-back successes at Wexford Equestrian on Tuesday were Commandant Terence White and the home-bred mare, Garrybritt Sally, whose win came in the NutriScience-sponsored thoroughbred class.

White, who filled the runner-up spot in the EI110 at Punchestown on Sunday with Swatch This, not only repeated his victory with the unraced September Storm six-year-old but did so on the same score as he completed on his dressage mark of 29 penalties.

Patrick Whelan finished second on another unraced thoroughbred, the four-year-old Libertarian gelding Elliott (32.2), while Patrick Byrne slotted into third with the Jeremy six-year-old I’m Charlie (37.2) who ran in two bumpers and a hurdle in the 2018/19 season when trained by Eoin Griffin.

The top three horses were the only ones to complete on their dressage scores. Second the previous Tuesday, Leila Barker led after the first phase with the former Prunella Dobbs-trained Double Sixteen (28) but this Robin Des Pres five-year-old dropped to fourth with the addition of 10 jumping penalties.

Garrybritt Sally, who is the fifth of six foals out of the Zaffaran mare Pennyworth, is one of three mares White has for the Stepping Stones league at Wexford Equestrian by September Storm who moved from Ballyash Stud, Co Down to Knockhouse Stud, Co Kilkenny towards the end of 2016.

Influential breeding

The 18-year-old stallion won a listed race in his native Germany but, importantly, is by the hugely influential Monsun and is a full-brother to Shirocco, the sire of Cheltenham Festival winners Annie Power, Minella Rocco, etc. September Storm has sired plenty of racecourse and point-to-point winners himself from limited numbers, including Mia’s Storm and Longhouse Sale who have been successful eight times apiece on the track.

September Storm is also sire of Virginia Maguire’s home-bred Handsome Starr, who won the EI110 Open at Frankfort Stud recently under Steven Smith, and of the Lucca Stubington-ridden Quingenti. Georgia Stubington’s unraced 10-year-old rounded off the 2018 season by winning the EI110 National Championship at Kilguilkey House and the 2019 campaign with a rare international win for an Ireland-based horse in Britain when landing the CCI2*-L at Bicton. The bay finished fifth on his seasonal debut in the EI110 Open at Punchestown last Sunday.