THERE were nine international classes at last week’s Millstreet International Horse Trials and seven of them were won by Irish Sport Horses.

That is a statistic to be really proud of as a breeding nation; congratulations to the breeders of these horses: Flash Cooley (4*-L), Cooley Park Muze (3*-L), Belline Thistle Bethelasttime (2*-L), Fairyhouse In A Pickle (P2*L), Baberstown Castle Rehy (CCI3*-S), Boleybawn Oliva (YH2*-S) and Lates Eddie (2*-S).

The winner of the big feature class, Flash Cooley, ridden by Gemma Stevens, was originally named Castlefield Casper. As his name suggests, the 13-year-old grey gelding was bred by Jim O’Neill, father of international show jumper Ger, in Co Kilkenny, by CSF Mr Kroon – who Ger rode to win the four-year-old championship at Dublin in 2018 – out of the home-bred mare Castlefield Ruby. Flash Cooley jumped twice under Showjumping Ireland rules with Ger, before joining the team of US Olympic eventer Liz Halliday, via Cooley Farm.

In Sally Parkyn’s Millstreet preview, she put Gemma Stevens up as a top contender for the class and that proved correct, while Gemma also took the 3*-L with another Cooley horse, the John Connolly-bred Cooley Park Muze.

You can read extensive coverage of every class at Millstreet from Melanie Young and Margie McLoone on pages 82-85.

La Baule win

As we went to press, Michael Blake’s Irish show jumping team of Bertram Allen (Qonquest De Rigo), Seamus Hughes Kennedy (ESI Rocky (ISH)), Tom Wachman (Tabasco De Toxandria Z) and Cian O’Connor (Bentley de Sury) won the CSIO5* Nations Cup in La Baule, France in emphatic style on zero faults.

Both Bertram and Seamus completed on double clears, with Cian and Tom jumping one clear a piece and Cian was not required to jump round two. All four are listed elsewhere on this page on the longlist for the European Championships and have boosted their chances here! This win comes off the back of a four-star team win in Canada last week.