Outperforming a stream of senior internationals, Joshua Pim and Jodie O’Keefe took top six placings in two fiercely competitive sectors of CIC**, while fellow young riders Elizabeth Hayden and Tony Kennedy also completed with distinction. Barbury is recognised as one of the major fixtures on the British circuit so it was no mean feat that the quartet scored highly in open classes that numbered around 90 runners apiece.

Pim’s outstanding fourth placing came in the division headed by William Fox Pitt and Top Biats. Riding The Irish Minstrel for his grandmother Jean, Pim first produced a personal best dressage mark of 41.0, to which he added four penalties in the show jumping and a further 6.8 across the country.

“I knew the test felt good, but I didn’t think it was going to be that good,” said Pim. “It was the first time he had done the new test, so there are still things to improve on. In the show jumping he just tipped the final part of the combination, but I was pleased as it was a technical track.”

Equally technical was the cross-country but again Pim made little either of the fences or Barbury’s famous hills.

“He felt full of running and just kept jumping,” he added.

In the final section Jodie O’Keefe and Kachemire Le Beau pulled out all the stops to fill sixth spot behind Australian international Christopher Burton and Nobilis 18. Completing just ahead of compatriot Austin O’Connor and Kilpatrick Knight, O’Keefe scored a very creditable 43.9 on the flat, and was foot-perfect over the coloured poles.

“I’m still coming to grips with the test, so I’m delighted and really feel that I could get into the low 30s,” she said. “In the show jumping, Esib [Power] and Ian Fearon had walked track with me, so I just rode as they said I had to.”

As with Pim, Leaving Certificate commitments have curtailed the number of cross-country outings the pair have had this season and with only two runs under her belt, O’Keefe did well to add just 10 time penalties to her overnight score.

“I did feel rather unprepared, but I needn’t have worried because he felt great everywhere,” she remarked.

Such was the toughness of the cross-country track that around 25% of the runners in each sector failed to complete. With that in mind, fellow young rider Elizabeth Hayden was notable for piloting both Miracle (24th) and Classic Piper (25th) home clear in their respective sections, and as one of the fastest clear rounds in his division, Maynooth’s Tony Kennedy and Westeria Lane also went well to complete in 31st place.

Young rider trainers Heike Holstein and Ian Fearon were keenly watching from the sidelines, as was chef d’equipe Sally Corscadden.

All three will have been delighted with these solid performances, before they reassess after the final team trial at Camphire.

Ireland’s other representative in the CIC** was Padraig McCarthy who, riding the veteran Simon Porloe for his partner Lucy Wiegersma, completed with a double clear round in 17th place.

Rounding off a very satisfying weekend, Austin O’Connor rode both his WEG-listed Ringwood Mississippi and Fernhill Rockstar in the CIC***. Having already decided not to run the former across the country, he was nevertheless thrilled to produce his best test (48.0) at the level and also to show jump clear.

“Obviously at that stage I was tempted to run him, but I decided to stick with the plan, and gave him a spin on the Barbury gallops instead,” said O’Connor. A run in the advanced at Aston Le Walls is now on the cards, and probably just one other outing before WEG.

Fernhill Rockstar meanwhile, jumped a double clear round to complete in 23rd place, his third three-star placing on the bounce. The Master Imp-sired Kilpatrick Knight filled seventh in the CIC**, while under the same ownership of Wendie Foster, Lucky Contender took the runner up spot in a novice class.

Running over the same weekend, Mark Kyle ran several youngsters at his local event at Buckminster Park in Leicestershire. Riding Danturano K he won a section of BE100, and produced a good double clear with Erano M in the novice. Kyle also rode the former Emma Jackson ride, Rock Emperor (by Emperor Augustus), into 14th place in the five-year-old qualifier class, ahead of Niall Griffin with Monarts Carrick Diamond (27th).