A VERY early start of 1am paid off for Andrew Williams, John Tilley and their Kilkenny International Sporthorses’ team last Saturday as, on their first visit to the Dennison family’s lovely Loughanmore estate outside Templepatrick, they came away with one win and three top-10 finishes from four runners.

Success came in the EI115 (Adv) which Tilley won on the Irish Sport Horse mare Trend de la Cruise (28.1 penalties), ahead of Co Down’s Joseph Murphy on Funny Guy (28.5) and Co Cork’s Sian Coleman riding Kilroe Frolic (29.2).

The trio completed on their Vanda Stewart-awarded dressage scores and were the only ones in the 13-runner class to do so.

An 11-year-old bay daughter of Future Trend, the winner was bred in Co Kildare by Diana Warrington out of the Cruising mare Air Cruise. She is owned by Ballyclare native George Anderson who flew in from England for the day to see his mare compete and win. Tilley also finished fifth on Licence To Cooley whose total of 41 included six cross-country time penalties while the Dutch Warmblood gelding also had a pole down show jumping.

“We were delighted with the win but had hoped to be competing in an EI120 Advanced class, as at one time scheduled, as we wanted both horses to have a run at that level before Lisgarvan where they are in the 4* long,” commented Williams. “Knowing that our main business is producing young horses for sale, people will probably be surprised to hear me say this, but it’s becoming impossible to produce high-level horses in Ireland; there hasn’t been one Advanced class in the country this year.

“I realise that it’s a financial issue, and it’s more profitable for landowners to run lower-level, grassroots classes as that’s where the money is, but we need better tracks as well. Last week, we were in Clonmahon when the tracks were right up to standard and then we came on here to this beautiful venue with its big, galloping tracks - but they’re not all like that. Perhaps landowners could be encouraged to run Advanced classes with grants specifically for these from Eventing Ireland or Horse Sport Ireland.”

The Tilley-ridden Tireragh Wispa, who completed on his dressage score, and Monbeg Crystal Clear, who had a fence down show jumping, finished third (32 penalties) and eighth (40.5) in the EI110. Here, Co Wicklow-based New Zealand international Amanda Goldsbury initiated a double on the ISH gelding KHH Romanov Park (21.5) who was the only other in the 18-runner field to complete on the flat work mark he was awarded by Lucinda Webb-Graham.

Bred by The Irish Field’s advertising and marketing manager Brendan McArdle and his partner Sarah Crosbie out of the Don Juan de la Bouverie mare HHS Central Park, the seven-year-old Romanov chesnut was recording his first EI win here on just his fourth outing, having previously amassed 59 points with Showjumping Ireland. Four of the 18 starters failed to complete.

The Goldsbury double came up in the 27-strong EI100 where she led throughout on the ISH mare Designed At Cooley (23 penalties) who was having just her third start under EI rules.

This six-year-old Sligo Candy Boy bay is well-named, having been bred by Cooley Farm’s Georgina Philips out of the Sekio mare Dargle Cooley, dam previously of the Ramiro B gelding Cooley High Thyme (CCI3*-L). Three combinations were eliminated, two for omitting the same fence (13) on the Adam Stevenson-designed cross-country course.