THERE were only four starters in the Equine Warehouse CCIP2-S at last week’s Millstreet International but it provided a most comprehensive victory for Matthew Love and Lucky For Some.

Love and his father Micky’s mare were lying third after dressage but, even with a pole down show jumping, their clear cross-country round inside the time saw them win on a total of 39 penalties. Hazel Barden finished second on Kilnaspic Lily (54.2).

This success not only rounded off the season perfectly for 15-year-old Love but also served as an excellent bon voyage present as he and his mother Sarah were in Normandy on Wednesday, a day before he was due to start school in Deauville. Love’s brother Timmy and sister Holly also spent a school term in France and he will be there until Christmas.

“Matthew is staying with a lovely family, the Bureaus, who run a large stud and racing operation,” revealed Sarah who bred Lucky For Some. “I’m not sure how much riding he will do but, rest assured, he brought his riding-out gear with him. When Timmy stayed with the Bureaus he rode out for a French trainer before school, so Matthew is hopeful.

“During the summer, Matthew rode out six mornings a week for Sneezy Foster and loved it. Between that and eventing, he didn’t have time for anything else. He used to play some hurling in Rathmolyon and loves his rugby. He’s in Transition Year at King’s Hospital.”

Lucky For Some, who was previously ridden by both Holly and Timmy, is a 10-year-old bay mare by the Connemara stallion Dunlewey Seamus out of the unraced Classic Cliché mare Gifted Sister, a half-sister to three track winners.