Watched on by nervous breeder Maria Melvin, the six-year-old Crosstown Dancer gelding added 0.8 of a cross-country time penalty to his dressage score of 33.5 having left all the coloured poles intact on what had previously been his bogey phase.

“We’re very pleased with our horse,” said owner John Melvin, “Clare has done a great job with him. We had planned on trying to win the Irish Sport Horse six-year-old series with him but he came home to us after Lisgarvan at the end of April when Clare was getting ready for Badminton. After this weekend, when he goes to Kilguilkey, other runs will depend on where Clare is heading with Euro Prince; hopefully that will be the World Equestrian Games.

“His dam (the thoroughbred Glenkeeran In The Deep, by Snurge) is due to Crosstown Dancer at the end of the month. We were delighted too with our other horse here, Glenkeeran Dreamcatcher (by Ricardo Z) who shared the lead after dressage in the Pre-Novice A. Unlike ‘Bertie’, she’ll be for sale once she has done a bit more.”

Camilla Speirs led after dressage on 31.5 with BT Pickapocket but had to settle for second place when her mother Bridget’s home-bred Golden Master gelding had a pole down show jumping before also picking up 0.8 of a time penalty on the final phase. The Co Kildare rider had immediate compensation, however, when landing Section B with another Golden Master gelding owned by her mother, BT Cloud Nine. Also in action at Kilguilkey, this much-admired six-year-old has a couple of blots on his copybook but is usually a consistent sort who now has 21 EI points. Bred by Barbara Hatton, BT Cloud Nine is out of the Maltstriker mare Slyguff Amber who comes from the family of HHS Comporta Beach.

Between the two sections, only four horses were home clear within the time, one of them being the Emma Jackson-partnered stallion Creevagh For Sure who finished second on his dressage score of 36 in Section B. Nicola Coffey was eliminated when falling from Big Field River Tom at fence 12, the ditch to a skinny before the water.

Trim’s Caoimhe Eivers had 10 points in hand when winning the CNCP** with the 10-year-old Westside Mirah gelding Wilderwood Storm. Lucy Arkwright, who led after dressage but had a fence down show jumping, suffered a bloody nose but no wet clothes when her Tattersalls international mount, Sally McNally, unseated her at the first water, fence 13.

On her flatwork mark of 36.5, Dalkey rider Meabh Charlton finished alone in the one-star pony class on her mother Valerie’s nine-year-old mare Woody’s Girl, who was having her 11th run of the season. This was the pair’s first win since their Pony C debut success at Monart last October.

Jackilynn Breslin, a working pupil with Michelle Kenny and Rafael Sanctuary at River Lodge Eventing, won the Junior C on John Whelan’s Master Imp mare Wexford Showtime. The nine-year-old bay, whose completion score of 36.8 included 0.8 for time on the final leg, was bred by Letty O’Sullivan out of the Forties Field mare Vision Of Diamonds. She was making just her third start on Saturday. Cathal Daniels was unseated from HTS Tommy K at the down bank at 11 while Darragh Byrne and Davidstown Cloverscraft took an earlier bath at the following first water.

There were 21 starters in the intro class, where the fences which caused the most problems were the turf cart at three, the up bank at eight and, at 14, the vegetable rack from which Frank Glynn could be spied replenishing himself with a carrot or two during the afternoon.

Dromore’s Fiona Fitzgibbon rode three of the 21, winning on her dressage score of 30.5 with Colville Stewart’s home-bred gelding Grannys Double. The six-year-old chesnut mare, who was having her second start, is by Ballinvella Lad out of Savanna Gold (by Western Light). Ian Cassells led after dressage (23) with the Annaharvey winner Anliosin Kris Kros Dancer and managed to finish second in spite of an additional 12 show jumping penalties. Ballymoney’s Wendy Anderson recorded her first EI win when completing on her flat work score of 39.5 with Artic Poppy in the Pony C.