ONCE again claiming the honours in a class that she is fast making her own, Co Wexford’s Ciara O’Connor recorded her third successive win in the opening junior/young rider event horse class. Riding the hot favourite and last year’s winner Ashwood Rio, O’Connor delivered another masterclass performance with the seven-year-old and was never headed.

As they did 12 months ago, the pair made an early impression on judges Padraig McCarthy together with former German event team coach Hans Melzer, both of whom scored them highly in Wednesday’s evening session. This advantage was increased further in the main arena on Thursday morning where, immaculate once again, they eventually headed the 16 runners on 91.3.

“It still feels unreal!” O’Connor said afterwards. “My other horse Ashwood Iron Lady has rather taken priority this summer, but we do hope to take Rio to Cornbury next month.” At this stage in her career, O’Connor is already a veteran of pony and junior European teams, and with Ashwood Iron Lady she is bound for Sweden for the young rider championships later this month. Both Ashwood-prefixed horses are owned and bred by her aunt Sharon O’Connor, who produced them out of the Ramiro B-sired dam Pikeur.

Now just upgraded into the intermediate ranks, Rio (by Dignified Van’t Zorgvliet) landed his second international event win at Ballindenisk last autumn before completing his first CCI3* in the spring of this year.

In comparison, the second placed David Bourke-bred Enniskerry Masterpiece has been campaigned solely at junior level winning two EI110 J classes on his last two starts.

Ridden by Chloe Walsh and sourced from her trainer Leila Barker three years ago, the son of Van Gogh picked up the highest jumping marks from McCarthy and Melzer, to lead Adam Campbell and the HVL Golden Girl by four marks.

This was a big and unexpected result for Mullingar-based show jumper Campbell, who bought the Orestus-sired mare from her breeder Tina McDermott as a foal. Never having evented under rules, but the winner of 40 SJI points in classes up to 1.20m level, she looked very much at ease in the jumping test, while Campbell described competing in the main arena as “something else”.

Winner aside, the leaderboard was turned on its head on the second day. The well placed Nadia Sabot (Sportsfield Supreme) expensively lowered a pole to drop from second to sixth, while Michael Bowe riding the smart Inisfree Chapo was desparately unlucky when glancing off the skinny brush at the sunken road. This error cost the Kiltealy pair four places, but benefited Anna Murphy who moved into fourth with Drumrankin Hiboy.