Sally Parkyn

IN what proved to be a memorable weekend for Irish eventing, the Duggan family at Millstreet delivered another an international showcase on a par with any in the eventing world.

This highly praised fixture was crowned by Michael Ryan’s home win in the feature CCI***, while Irish-bred horses dominated the long format classes.

It seems hard to believe that last weekend’s event is only the second full international ever staged at the venue, and in the past 12 months Thomas Duggan and his team have produced two brand new long format courses.

“It’s still a work in progress, but we’re obviously delighted with how things have gone,” he reflected.

“In this crowded Olympic year and with a head to head clash with the event Masters at Blair we were up against it, but in the end it prevailed. We have major plans for the tracks again next year, and are very much looking forward to the junior and young rider European championships in July 2017, as well as this fixture again in August.”

INFRASTRUCTURE

The enviable infrastructure of this show centre has been in place for many years, but it is the attention to detail that sets it apart. The status awarded to the owners at the podium prize presentations was a major talking point, as was the comfort of the catered viewing pavilion alongside the main arena.

Frequent shuttle transport to and from the cross-country at Drishane Castle was another appreciated provision and, while the absence of a central scoreboard divided opinion, it may be introduced next year.

Back on track however, it was Mike Etherington-Smith’s beautifully presented courses that took centre stage. Blessed by the weather and running over perfect ground, the three days of cross-country were highlighted by the two long format CCI showcases and backed up by five well supported CIC classes.

During the year, both distance and jumping efforts have been added to the original tracks and the resulting changes were spectacular. Following massive groundworks in the centre of the park, Mike Etherington-Smith designed yet another new water feature together with an imposing, but ultimately straightforward Irish Bank.

These were included in a spectator-friendly loop that complemented the flow of the tracks and delivered a good balance of influence. The hilly terrain proved stamina sapping for the less fit or able but the times were achievable, if testing.

Never one to rest on his laurels, Thomas Duggan opted to revamp the young horse futurity classes this year and the three, four and five-year-olds showcased under lights on Friday and Saturdays evenings.

The cream of the latter was then invited forward to the main outdoor arena on Sunday, neatly filling in a perfect time slot between the finales of the two major classes.