REFLECTING on last weekend’s results at the Semalease Kilguilkey House international, and with an eye on the immediate future, the one positive is the fact that New Zealand, Australia and Japan are not in Europe.

Having dominated the long-format classes, Antipodean riders filled the first three places in the Bretland Construction CCC4*-S. From a patriotic standpoint, Carlow’s Sam Watson thankfully stopped the Japanese taking the next three spots when, with two cross-country time penalties, he finished sixth on his own Irish Sport Horse gelding, Ballyneety Rocketman (39), a traditionally-bred nine-year-old Diamond Discovery gelding.

New Zealand’s Tim Price would have beaten his wife to the top spot on the final leaderboard had he not picked up 1.2 time penalties over the fixed fences on the Dutch Warmblood gelding Jarillo. As it was, he had to settle for second on 31.7 while Jonelle completed on the dressage score she was awarded by fellow New Zealander Margaret Valerine Carline and France’s Eric Lieby following her test on Senor Crocodillo (31.2).

Australia’s Kevin McNab also finished on his flat work score (32.2) with Scuderia 1918 A Best Friend. That attractive 13-year-old Albaran gelding was having his fourth start in Ireland and his second of 2023 when running at the weekend. The latter half of that sentence would also apply to Jarillo and Senor Crocodillo, a 2014 Holstein gelding by Connor 48.

There were 30 starters in this class, all of whom completed bar the Italian combination of Alberto Giugni and Cornish Rebel who retired following one stop at fence eight across the country; the Swiss pairing of Teresa Stokar on Something Extra who, last after dressage, withdrew following a clear show jumping round; and Co Cork’s Michael Ryan whose mount, Barnahown Corn Hill, was “eliminated for sustained resistance” in the dressage phase.