AUSTRALIA’s Kevin McNab, popular British rider Ben Hobday (GB), the husband and wife team of Giovanni Ugolotti (Italy) and Kathryn Robinson (Canada) spearhead an array of international event riders bound for the Fernhill Kilguilkey international fixture in Mallow next weekend. Joining the quartet is a further contingent from Britain and Finland, as well as an impressive field from the home nation. Fresh from good runs in Luhmuhlen, Ireland’s World Games team hopefuls Cathal Daniels and Sarah Ennis are strongly represented, as are Joseph Murphy, Ciaran Glynn and Aiden Keogh.

The entries for this sixth running of the annual fixture have already exceeded those from the last year, delivering a welcome boost to industrious hosts, the Dulohery family. Michelle’s ill-timed recent eventing fall has left her housebound for the present, but she reports that all is on track for the first day of competition on Friday.

“It has been extremely unfortunate for me to be on the side lines,” she explained. “But I’m aware of how lucky I am as everything will hopefully heal in time. I have been absolutely inundated by friends from the eventing community offering to help during the event which is so lovely. I’m back at home now working on timetables, stabling plans etc and will be ready to roll next week!”

Once again Carol Gee’s Kilkenny-based Fernhill Sport Horses has come on board as title sponsor, having lent its support for several years. “Carol and her team have been with us from our very humble beginnings and have helped us all the way to make the event grow each year,” said Dulohery.

Course designer Danny Dulohery has been working hard to perfect all areas and most importantly has focused his efforts on the ground. “A huge amount of time and effort has been spent on the ground during the past month,” he commented. “We’ve had a dreadful winter and no real spring, and as we had to cancel our event at the end of the season due to heavy rain, it really did feel that it rained for nearly eight months.

“This year, we were so unfortunate to get thunder storms the evening and night before our opening national event, and although we were lucky enough to run, the going was extremely tough. Since then we have done extensive work with special machinery, levelling and getting the ground to back to good order. It has been extremely challenging but thankfully we had kept off the majority of the international tracks apart from crossing points.”

MULTIPLE CHANGES

While the routes are similar to those of 12 months ago, there are several adjustments and a number of completely new complexes. Both water combinations have been redesigned, drained and resurfaced, while riders will be pleased to note that the famous and influential ‘Birds Nests’ have been replaced. This area will now feature some accuracy demanding skinny brush fences, which will be sited in the quarry midway on the track.

One of the attractions of the event is the wide range of classes on offer, which range from the new CI Intro (105) through to the CIC classes at all levels up to and including CIC3*. The former is particularly notable as it is the first time this newly approved class has ever been staged under international rules. Riders in this class have their own separate track which runs alongside the CIC1* but branches off after the main water complex.

“This new route now leads to a new area, which was previously our Hunting Gap,” revealed Dulohery.” There is a lovely small mound heading into a wooded area, jumping a fallen tree to coffin then onto a Birch fence.

The main feature class is the Global Sport Horses CIC3*, sponsored for the second year in succession by the locally based riders and producers Brian Morrison and Chris Hunt. This showcase has attracted a very open field, with favouritism probably falling to Sarah Ennis. Double-handed with Horseware Stellor Rebound and Woodcourt Garrison, Ennis will face a strong challenge from not only compatriot Cathal Daniels and his recent Belton winner Sammy Davis Junior, but also Ciaran Glynn, Aiden Keogh and Joseph Murphy.

In keeping with its inaugural status, the CI Intro has a new sponsor is the form of Equissentials and Avalon. Their products will be showcased throughout the event, as will those of fellow new supporters and CIC* sponsors PlusVital. Once again Eventing Ireland lend their name to the CIC* (Ponies) which this year, acts as the final run/selection trial for the forth coming European championships.

The nutritional specialists TopSpec (CIC2*) are also returning sponsors, as well as the title supporters Fernhill Sport Horses.

In addition to the main action, the Duloherys are also running two young event horse performance classes for four and five-year-olds which will be staged on Friday afternoon. Each class will carry a prize fund of €500 as well as an additional prize of €100 for the highest placed horse and rider combination registered with Eventing Ireland in both classes.

Details about these classes can be found on a separate post on the Eventing Ireland Website – www.eventingireland.com