THE Irish Sport Horse studbook won the breed championship at Le Lion d’Angers for the second year running last weekend when, for the second year without the use of the age levelling co-efficient, the contributing scores all came from six-year-olds.

Just seven studbooks had sufficient entries for this year’s competition with the ISH having by far the largest entry with 25 horses representing eight nations. Some 10 were partnered by Irish riders, seven by British, two by America’s Liz Halliday-Sharp, two by Russians while others carried the flags of Australia, Belgium, Canada and Italy.

The horses who won the breed trophy for the ISH studbook finished second, third and fourth in the CCI1* class behind the Selle Français gelding Cristal Fontaine who won gold on his dressage score of 25.4 penalties under Britain’s Kitty King.

Her compatriot Piggy French, whose two rides at Le Lion d’Angers were both bred in this country, led the defence for the ISH studbook when claiming the silver medal with Emerald Jonny (25.8) who too completed on his first phase score. With a fence down show jumping apiece, Halliday-Sharp finished third on Cooley Moonshine (26.4) while Britain’s Millie Dumas was fourth with Universal Cooley (27.3).

Apart from the fact that he was bred in Co Mayo by Donnacha Quinn, there’s not too much Irish about the 2016 Goresbridge May Select Sale graduate Emerald Jonny who is by Waldo van Dungen (KWPN) out of Z Royalty van de Heerins (KWPN), by Rubels (OLD). Quinn has bred two other ISH-registered foals from the dam, a 2013 colt by Pacino and a 2014 filly by Clinton Jack. The bronze medal-winning Cooley Moonshine (known here as Monbeg Cartel when he was show jumped as a four-year-old by Lucy Latta and Elizabeth Power and evented by the latter at five) is a son of Cobra (HOLST).

Hugely consistent and fifth in the British young horse championships at Osberton, the dark bay gelding was bred in Co Wexford by M.J. Kavanagh out of the Kings Master mare Kilpatrick Duchess.

Universal Cooley is a tall mare by VDL Arkansas who only started eventing last year. The grey, who was bred in Co Clare by Tommy O’Gorman, is out of the Maltstriker mare Dysart Lilly whose first foal was the 2009 mare Summerbridge Lilly.