HARTPURY College has proved a happy hunting ground for Irish riders over the last week, as a number of podium placings were achieved in both the CDI3* and the youth divisions. Abi Lyle made her first international start with Giraldo since they contested the Paris Olympics in 2024, and it was a successful one, where they secured the all-important World Championship MER on their first attempt. They finished fourth in the Grand Prix on 68.565%, behind British Olympians Fiona Bigwoood and Gareth Hughes, while Henriette Andersen was only fractionally ahead of Lyle in third, on 68.826%.

Lyle (pictured on page 1) took to social media after that class to say: “He came to the arena today like a bull coming out of the gates! He was a wild man! He basically wanted to extend out of every corner, so definitely not the refined version that we would like to show, but I could not be happier with the MER score. The first is always the hardest, so let’s get cracking.”

There were two more Irish riders in the top 10 of the Grand Prix, as National Champions Kevin Acres and Ganesh came very close to the 66% MER when they finished seventh on 65.780%. Carolyn Mellor was ninth with her own Gouverneur M on 65.152%, while Sorrell Klatzko was 12th with Turbo on 64.717%.

Seven of the best 10 from the Grand Prix elected to go forwards to the Special, and here the top four combinations were the same, albeit in a slightly different order. Lyle and Giraldo were fourth once again, this time on 66.106%, while Hughes reversed positions with Bigwood to take the win. Acres was in the money in seventh on 64.298%.

Mellor and Klatzko both chose to contest the Freestyle, and for the latter this was a great decision, as she finished second on 71.190% behind Singapore’s Caroline Chew, while Mellor was fifth with her 2021 European Championship partner Gouverneur M. Speaking afterwards, Klatzko reflected that: “The great advantage of the freestyle programme is that I was able to place the canter tour first, which went well and this helps me settle him for the rest of the movements. We were a bit rusty in the Grand Prix the day before, it was our first international outing since July of last year.”

There was also success for Irish athletes in the youth classes at Hartpury, particularly in the CDIJ, where only a week after winning the EI110J at Tyrella, the multi-talented Annaharvey Dunowen was third in the team test for Maeve Deverell. The same combination were fourth in the Junior Individual test, where one of the three judges, Italy’s Eugenio Rovida, had them down to win. Their week concluded with a fifth in the Freestyle. Evie Kennedy also contested this class with the veteran Cordobes XXXVI, and their best result came in the Freestyle, where they finished sixth on 68.392%.

HSI’s dressage high performance manager Anne Marie Dunphy said of the week: “We were well-represented at Hartpury in both the senior and youth divisions. While Abi and Giraldo achieved the first of their MER scores for the forthcoming World Championships, Kevin, Carolyn and Sorrell each demonstrated the potential to do so in the coming weeks. We currently have nine active FEI-registered Grand Prix athletes, some of whom have two horses, and more at national level advancing towards international. It’s a good situation to be in and it will drive competition for team places. There is a lot of positivity among this squad and I’m excited about the possibilities ahead.”

A report on the results of the Irish para riders at Hartpury will appear next week.