Margie McLoone

IRISH-bred event horses won at three-star level on both sides of the Atlantic last weekend with many others recording top 10 finishes.

In England, they landed two of the three international classes at Blenheim Palace with the results being particularly well-received in Co Wicklow where the pair both wintered as three turning four-year-olds at Richard and Georgina Sheane’s Cooley Farm.

In fact, the Cross Syndicate’s Cooley Cross Border, who won the featured CCI3* at the Oxfordshire event, spent most of this summer at the Sheanes’ Glenealy yard with Olympic and World medallist Kim Severson flying in from in Virginia to compete the 10-year-old Diamond Roller gelding at regular intervals.

She was particularly grateful that Katie O’Sullivan and Bethany Burton had the horse so fit and well-schooled.

In recent years, Severson hasn’t made many competitive appearances on this side of the Atlantic but, with the British-bred Winsome Andante in particular, she had an excellent record as a team and individual rider in the noughties on her many forays out of the United States and won the CCI3* at Blenheim on the Saunter gelding back in 2001.

In bridging a 16-year gap, Severson completed on her third-placed dressage score (37.8) with Cooley Cross Border as Germany’s Julia Krajewski on Chipmunk FRH and Britain’s Pippa Funnell with the Irish-bred MGH Grafton Street (by OBOS Quality 004), who led and were second after the first two phases on 33.4 and 35.7 respectively, both picked up eight penalties on Sunday’s show jumping phase to finish third and fifth.

For the record, Britain’s Laura Collett, who recorded a double clear, improved from ninth after dressage to second with Mr Bass (40.4) on whom she had a disappointing result in the CIC3* at Millstreet last month having won a similar class with the nine-year-old Holstein gelding at Ballindenisk in April.

Cooley Cross Border was bred in Co Louth by one of the great characters of the Irish horse world, Johnny Duffy. He was the first foal out of his dam, the Osilvis mare Whos Diaz, and so impressed Brian Kearney, whose father John owns Diamond Roller, that they immediately bought the mare.

As an event prospect, Cooley Cross Border was first spotted as a three-year-old by the late Shirley Kernan who told the Sheanes about the gelding and they sold him on in the spring of 2011 to Severson who was in Ireland sourcing horses through Yvonne Monahan.

Whos Diaz has been bred exclusively to Diamond Roller and while they have sold some of her progeny, the Kearneys have retained a three-year-old gelding and two two-year-olds (one a gelding who is said to be the image of Cooley Cross Border in all respects), while earlier this year she produced a filly by the son of the ISH sire High Roller.

Diamond Roller has spent the last two breeding seasons with the Sheppards at Byrnesgrove Stud and will return to Ballyragget in the spring following his winter holiday in Co Louth.

He is currently spending his time being spoiled at Blackrock Stud by Sally Cox who, along with her late husband Bunny, stood Peacock who features close up in Diamond Roller’s maternal family.

Cooley Lands, who was the top-priced lot when sold to Richard Sheane by the Leacys of Redinagh Stud as a three-year-old at the 2011 Goresbridge September Sale, won the CIC3* for eight and nine-year-old horses under Australia’s Chris Burton, completing on his dressage score of 42.6.

“We broke him and he was well schooled when we sold him the following spring to Kate Walls,” said a delighted Sheane of the Cavalier Land gelding who was bred in Co Monaghan by Peter Rice out of the Clover Hill mare Clover Light Girl. “Kate usually rides him herself (they were 13th in the CCI2* at Millstreet last month), and does all the work with the horse, but Chris sits up every now and again.”

Japan’s Kazuma Tomoto, who turned to eventing last season following two years on the international show jumping circuit, led after dressage and show jumping with Brookpark Vikenti but dropped to second (42.7) when picking up two time penalties on the final cross-country phase. The nine-year-old Master Imp gelding, who was second under Tomoto in the CCI1* at Camphire last year, was ridden up to two-star level here by Michael Ryan.

Burton’s only other ride at Blenheim was the Irish-bred Graf Liberty who, with the addition of four show jumping penalties, finished third (43.4) in the Event Rider Masters CIC3* behind Britain’s Izzy Taylor with Be Touchable (36.9), and New Zealand’s Tim Price on Ascona M.

Graf Liberty, a 12-year-old gelding by Limmerick, was bred in Co Down by Brian Livingstone out of the Cavalier Royale mare Lisheen Star.

copper beach

Over at Plantation Field in Pennsylvania, the host nation’s Buck Davidson won the CIC3* class on the 2011 Go For Gold Sale graduate, Copper Beach, an 11-year-old Radolin gelding bred in Co Offaly by Paddy Daly.

The chesnut, who was first produced in England by Gemma Tattersall for Donal Barnwell, was lying third after dressage but, in spite of one time penalty, was leading after show jumping following the withdrawal of Long Island T (41.30), whose rider, Boyd Martin, had taken a cross-country fall in one of the two-star classes, while the second-placed Foxwood High (41.80) had lowered one rail under Selena O’Hanlon.

Copper Beach was clear across the country to claim victory ahead of another ISH gelding, the Balda Beau 15-year-old Cambalda, who completed on his first phase score (45.60) in hands of Jennie Brannigan.