Margie McLoone

ON her third competitive visit to Britain this year, Zoe Kavanagh qualified for next May’s Mitsubishi Motors Cup (Grassroots) event at Badminton when winning the BE100 Regional Final at Llanymynech last weekend on Reminisce One (ISH).

The Dublin-based rider, who is chief executive of the National Dairy Council, led the 23-runner class after dressage on 27.5. Although she picked up two time penalties across the country, Kavanagh held on to win from Lucy Spence and Joanne Morland, who completed on their first phase scores of 29.80 and 30.80 respectively.

Reminisce One, a 10-year-old Harlequin Du Carel gelding who represented the Irish Sport Horse Studbook twice at Lanaken in his show jumping days, is owned by Zoe’s father, Dick McElligott.

Already planning his trip to Badminton, McElligott didn’t travel to Llanymynech, but horse and rider were accompanied by their trainer, Jane O’Flynn.

For the record, Spence and Morland were both mounted on Irish-bred horses. The former rode the ISH gelding Ballinglen Eddie, a seven-year-old Rebel Mountain gelding on whom she competed at this year’s Grassroots Final, while Morland rode the unraced thoroughbred Indian Gale, a 10-year-old Indian Danehill half-brother to Ann Smurfit’s former top point-to-point horse Super Gale.