SHOWERED with well-deserved plaudits, the Duggan family and their hardworking team at Millstreet defied the shortest of odds to run a highly successful international event fixture last weekend.

By any standards it was a job well done, as following a week of almost relentless rain, the entire fixture had come within a whisker of being pulled.

Fortunately, however, some brave decisions were made on Monday evening, and thanks to some astute forward planning and not a small amount of dogged determination, the fixture was eventually given the green light.

As a result, it ran over five weather-blessed days, and not only hosted Ireland’s biggest international entry to date, but staged the first ever Irish leg of the lucrative Event Riders Masters Series.

In addition, there were eight long and short format international classes from CCI4*-L level down, as well as classes for young horses, and an international FEI course attended by 30 stewards, technical delegates and ground jury members.

The full timetable was hugely challenging, but it worked, and by staging an extra day of cross-country, every class was completed on time, and user friendly, the overseas riders had plenty of time to catch their ferries on Sunday evening.

The ERM class was as exciting as the hype that surrounds it, and was heightened in its electrifying climax by Sam Watson’s second place for Ireland, and Sarah Ennis agonisingly close challenge to the winner.

Running on motor racing lines, complete with podium and copious amounts of sprayed champagne, the class may not be for the purists, but is spectator friendly and its finale is certainly exciting.

Reflecting on the weekend, and giving both the venue and the organisation the thumbs up, ERM spokesperson, Martyn Johnson, commented: “We are delighted with the outcome. It was very well supported, and the whole team did a great job. I’d be very positive moving forward, and we are already planning things for next year.”

In the traditional classes, Irish wins were in short supply, but Padraig McCarthy did deliver a good top placing in the CCI2*-S, Sam Watson was brilliant as the runner-up in the ERM, while Daniel Brown caught the eye when picking up a smart third in the CCI3*-S. Lucy Latta was another to shine with both her horses as were Brian Morrison and Fred Scala who stood out after their classy rounds in the CCI4*-L.

Knife-edge

On a fine Sunday evening, as the lorries were driving out and peace descended, Thomas Duggan took time to reflect on the challenging situation that had faced him, and the hosting of Ireland’s biggest international event to date.

“We had been on a knife edge,” he admitted. “But we were lucky to have alternative space to use and also that course designer Mike Etherington-Smith had several alternative plans in place.

“It’s a great relief now that it’s over, and that it went so well. It’s been tough running this fixture straight after the international show jumping show, but hopefully next year we will have a week or a two week break due to the Olympic dates and those of Dublin Horse Show.

“I would also like to add, and it may seem like a cliché at this stage, a massive thanks to our volunteers – it just wouldn’t happen without them.”

Certainly, the fixture could never have gone ahead on a green field site, but such is the infrastructure at Green Glens, and such is the space out on the cross-country at Drishane Castle it was possible to remove one entire section of the cross-country track, replace in with an additional 10 fences on drier land, and most importantly, for the level of competition, not lose any length.

“It’s been an interesting week,” Mike Etherington-Smith said.

“I put together some new course plans last week, when the rain really started to kick in. Once the Duggans bravely opted to give it a crack, it was a major push, but everyone rose to the challenge and of course the attitude here is fantastic. There were so many courses, it was rather like the pieces in a jigsaw and it was all about improvise and compromise!”

In the end the tracks were repositioned and reroped, and in an added move, many fences were resited again each night, and the ground levelled to accommodate the better footing.

Interestingly and probably due to these massive efforts, the overall statistics illustrated that the event withdrawal rate clocked in at around 6%, which is on par with most similar international competitions.

‘Brilliant job’

Unsurprisingly, the feedback from the riders was extremely positive and appreciative, and speaking for many, British rider Harry Meade remarked: “They all did a brilliant job, and despite all the alterations the tracks still flowed. Under the conditions, the going was fine, and in many ways, it added to the competition and certainly didn’t take away from it.

“This is a great venue, the sweeping, galloping lines are what event horses are made to travel over and the entire venue is truly fit for a major championship.

“This is not an equestrian centre that is trying to run the cross-country as a side show – this is one of the best cross-country venues in the world, that just happens to have a fantastic permanent infrastructure as well.”

These words will be music to the ears of the Duggan family who, having made a bid to host the eventing phase of the WEG in 2020, travel to the FEI headquarters in Lausanne for the next step in the proceedings on September 11th.