“WE had a great day,” said Oliver Walsh of Flowerhill Equestrian Centre upon the conclusion of the first of their two scheduled Eventing Ireland dates last Sunday. “Our entries were good enough considering Millstreet International starts this week, and everyone was very complimentary of the event.

“A few international riders came and said that our course is the best they’ve seen and that they’d all return, so we couldn’t ask for better feedback. Our local riders from Flowerhill, all the volunteers and the Eventing Ireland stewards were extremely helpful, and my partner Giulia Kramer spent weeks doing the flowers and dressing the fences. It was a team effort, and it paid off.”

Amanda Goldsbury led the Vida Tansey-judged dressage phase of the EI115 with Cooley Lord Livello, but a refusal cross-country at fence 5A saw them drop down the leaderboard. Last year’s Lisgarvan CCI2*-L winner Cooley Clarissma offered Goldsbury some consolation however, by finishing second to Sarah Ennis and DS Are You Calypso.

The latter combination added only 7.2 cross-country time penalties to their dressage score of 26.6 to win on their debut at this level. Ennis also claimed the EI90 with eventing debutante Kwish Arlow Cruise, a five-year-old Loch Cruise gelding owned by Gerald Kilbride.

The EI110 (Open) featured only three runners, all of whom finished on their dressage scores, the best of which belonged to Aoife Madigan and Slanduff Bell X1.

There was a start list of 18 in the EI110 however, and the final standings saw Belline stable jockeys Emma Zucconi and Godfrey Gibbons sandwich Galway native Cathal Daniels’ two rides into second and third. Daniels led after dressage with Queen of Nosa Z, but by finishing six seconds over the optimum time cross-country, he allowed the slightly quicker Zucconi to take the win with Belline LEB Noble Warrior. He then piloted CDS Maple Syrup into third after a double clear in the jumping phases, a feat which was repeated by fourth-placed Godfrey Gibbons riding Belline JM Golden Legacy.

David Raeburn won the EI100 on his own Glountane Corellie D, a six-year-old gelding by Cornetini, who started his career by finishing second in the EI90 at Hillcrest the previous weekend. Exactly one mark adrift, Siobhan Schous finished second here with Watermill Lux Cougar, while Alice Copithorne was third with the Traditional Irish Horse Castleview Lady Cruise. Eilis von Cramon claimed top spot in the EI80 riding the 12-year-old Connemara gelding Glenoaks Rock’n’Roll, who was bred by her father Norbert.

Only two of the four runners in the EI110 (J) completed, and Isla Coad was the runaway winner when she finished on her dressage score of 28.5 with her mother Carol’s Lollypop PH. Ailbhe Hally built on her fifth place finish at Hillcrest with Gailes Lucky Charm to win the EI100 (J) and, having finished second in this class with Red Ace, Katie McCarville also claimed pole position in the EI100 (P) with the Connemara Blackfort Melody. Laura Coonan kept a clean sheet in the jumping phases to win the EI90 (P) with Melview Another Clover.

Flowerhill was the first of three events, which comprise the Nutriscience Equine AIRC Pathway Series, an initiative designed to give Riding Club members the opportunity to experience national-level eventing without the additional cost of Eventing Ireland membership or day tickets.

Run separately to the Amateur sections across EI80, EI90 and EI100, the classes gained a total of 19 entries, and Emma Armitage emerged victorious in the latter with her own Lassban Rodo. In the EI90 equivalent, Kerry O’Sullivan topped the leaderboard with My Mountain Grey, while at EI80 level, Therese Anderson finished best of the six starters with Killian Boy.