IAN Cassells had a fantastic day out at Crecora on Sunday, winning not only the EI115 (Open) with Cooley Bounce (ISH) on the pair’s first outing, but also winning the EI115 with AFS Ralph (ISH) and coming second in that class with Noa W (KWPN). In the 11-runner open class Cassells topped the leaderboard with a final score of 32.6 penalties.

The pair impressed from the start with the second best dressage score of 28.6 to which they added four show jumping faults. Close on his heels was Daragh Byrne riding Kilcannon Ramiro (ISH). Byrne led after dressage on 28.0 but eight show jumping faults proved costly, pushing his final score to 36.0. Kilcannon Ramiro is by Ramiro B out of Flick Princess (ISH) bred by Mary Bolger and owned by James Byrne.

In third place was Joseph Murphy aboard his own DStud Flirtation (ISH by Bernhard (KWPN) out of Lazelle D’Aubery bred by Gary Jackson). A respectable dressage score of 29.3 and one of only four clear show jumping rounds in the class were marred only by 7.6 time penalties on the cross-country phase, resulting in a final score of 36.9.

Cassells’ winner is a 15-year-old gelding by Grange Bouncer (RID) out of Smart Fair Lady (ISH) and bred by Thomas Duffin. The grey was campaigned to this point from a seven-year-old by Alannah Kelly, daughter of his owner Caroline. Alannah produced him to four star level and won the individual bronze medal with him at the young rider Europeans in Monitelibretti in 2023.

Speaking to The Irish Field after a winning weekend, Cassells was full of praise for his horses and the event.

“It was a really nice educational track for all levels. The ground held up well, considering the amount of rain it got, and there was a nice variety of questions,” he said.

“I picked up the ride on Cooley Bounce from Alannah, who I teach, because she is just a bit busy in work at the moment. She produced him all the way from a young horse.

"He’s a little bit tricky on the flat but at the same time he shows why Irish horses are so good - they have the heart to do the job and really want to try for you so that makes it a lot easier.”

Daniel Meagher and A Classic Sportsfield (ISH) finished fourth here with a final score of 40.3, while Rebecca Coughlan on Miss Cooley followed closely in fifth on 44.8 penalties. Heather O’Connor and HSH Has It All (ISH) rounded out the top six with 47.2, having picked up penalties in both the cross-country and dressage phases.

EI115

In the EI115 Cassells and AFS Ralph (ISH) saw off the competition thanks to a flawless performance from start to finish, starting with the third best dressage score of 31.4 and adding no further penalties in either jumping phase. Riding Noa W, who also had a jumping fault-free outing, Cassells produced a dressage score of 31.8. On both his rides in this class, he was the only competitor to come home on his dressage scores.

“I’ve had him from a five-year-old,” said the winner of AFS Ralph who is an eight-year-old by Chacoa (HOLST) out of AFS Clody (ISH), bred by Michael J Kavanagh and owned by Mary Phelan.

“He’s been quite tricky as a young horse but has always had the attributes to be a top level horse. We just need to take our time with him, to produce him a little bit slower, and hopefully in time I think he’ll really solidify himself at the higher level, and could potentially be a top, top horse.”

“Noa W (KWPN by Baltic VDL) is a new ride for me this year; he is a seven-year-old owned by Nuala McDonald and was previously produced by Antonia Ward. That was his first time at this level after he had a couple of novice wins this season and was double clear in his first two internationals so he’s really come on quickly. He’s a boyo and a little bit strong but could potentially be a proper horse. We’d like to aim for Le Lion, but he is a foreigner so I don’t know if that would be an option or not so we’ll just make our own plan and go from there.”

Daragh Byrne finished in third with Teachers Pet (SHB by Chilli Morning). The pair led the dressage phase with a competitive 28.9, but four show jumping faults nudged them down the leaderboard to finish on 32.9.

Fourth place went to Alyssa O’Neill riding DS Candescent (ISH) on 35.2 penalties overall followed by Sean Looney and Bonmahon Triomphant (ISH) who was fifth on 42.9. Rounding out the top six was Patrick Whelan aboard Lakelands Woody (ISH) on a total of 47.1.