WHILE some people are keeping their powder dry in the run up to Dublin, others had their young event horses out competing last weekend at two entirely different venues.

Having qualified on Wednesday, nine combinations contested the four-year-old young event horse Discovery final at Millstreet Horse Show early on Saturday morning when the combined scores of judges Marie Hennessy and Judy Bradwell were comfortably topped by Fraser Duffy on the Irish Sport Horse gelding Sportsfield Forever (95 points).

Sadhbh Bolger finished second with her own Dublin-bound ISH mare Little Miss Grantstown (86), a daughter of Colandro out of an unraced thoroughbred mare by Robin Des Champs, while Sara Lundkvist was third on the ISH gelding Sportsfield Cool As Ice (79). Like the winner, this Coolkeeran grey is one of a quartet of four-year-olds who will represent owner Paul Donovan next week.

Bred in Co Clare by Michael Meehan, Sportsfield Forever is by Lagans OBOS Quality out of the Lux Z mare Noreway Western.

The result was a lot closer in the five-year-old class where Kate Derwin, who is more associated with show jumping, and dual-purpose rider Sophie Richards finished first and second on the ISH geldings Fuerty ROC (97 points) and Orado C (94). Performance horse producer Diarmuid Ryan was third on one of the most consistent young event horses around, Bridget Speirs’s home-bred I’m Special de Muze gelding BT Just Special (93).

Derwin, who finished first and second in the Junior/Young Riders event horse class at Dublin in 2019 on two horses owned by Carol Gee, owns the winning Denzel van’t Meulenhof gelding with partner Robbie O’Connor. “He also competed in the five-year-old jumping final on Sunday,” said Derwin of her winner. “He is a show jumper, but is a flashy mover and a proper model. To keep his mind right, I took him to Flowerhill one day and he won a 1.10m event. I probably should have done the young event horse qualifiers with him, but wasn’t organised!”

Burghley qualifier

Up country on Sunday, on day two of the Tattersalls Ireland July Show, there was a win for the aforementioned Carol Gee when Luca Bortolamei partnered her ISH gelding Fernhill Junior to victory in the four-year-old section of the Burghley young event horse qualifier. The eye-catching dun gelding, who completed on a total of 81 points, is by Je t’Aime Flamenco and was bred in Co Kildare by Suzanne McCarville out of the Ricardo Z mare Catcher Babushka.

Behind them, there was a tie for second on 79.5 between the locally-based John Bannon riding A Good Call and Co Kilkenny’s Christine O’Donnell with ‘Smudge’. As his mount was awarded the higher jumping score by Ian Fearon, Bannon claimed the second qualifying ticket on offer with A Good Call, the Rock ‘N Roll ter Putte gelding who won the three-year-old potential event horse class at Dublin last year.

While Fernhill Junior, who qualified at Rincoola, and A Good Call, who qualified at Scarteen, are set to lock horns again at next week’s Dublin Horse Show, O’Donnell is giving her Valent gelding Smudge, who she holds in high regard, a bit of a break, perhaps bringing him back for jumping classes at the end of the year. There were two eliminations and one retirement.

Gee owned half of the top six in the five-year-old class at Tattersalls, one of whom topped Vanda Stewart’s dressage scores, but neither of those who claimed the two qualifying tickets.

Here the winner on 82.5 points was the Ben Rainey-ridden Donard Blue who has been mentioned in these pages before as Monbeg Donard Blue, firstly when purchased for €45,000 by Ella Boyle at last year’s Go For Gold Sale and then when qualifying for, and winning, the five-year-old Balmoral Star of the Future performance championship in May.

The grey ISH gelding by Zirocco Blue VDL was bred in Co Westmeath by Maeve Cuffe. His dam is the Monaco mare Samenta.

Also down from the north to finish second was the Rachael Thompson-partnered Bellavalent (81.5). Bred by the late Woods Rosbotham, the chesnut ISH mare by Valent is out of the seven-time track winner Bellaney Jewel (by Rosalier) and is thus a full-sister to Cooley Rosalent (CCI5*-L) and Jewelent (CCI4*-L).

Rainey and Boyle combined to take third here with the Guinness gelding Larav Guiness Light (77.3) who also finished third to his stable-companion at Balmoral. All 22 starters completed the three phases. This qualifier at Tattersalls was sponsored by Nortev Flexineb.