THE final Eventing Ireland fixture of the 2026 season took place at Barnadown in Co Wexford last Sunday, where riders were unanimous in their praise of the organising team and particularly of the opportunity to show jump on the facility’s much-admired grass arena.

“The ground was excellent and the organisers put so much work into it,” said the Overlander EI110 winner Ruth Robinson. “The course was educational and flowing, but the highlight for me was the jumping arena on grass and a very well-built show jumping course. Good jumpers were rewarded today, which is how the sport is evolving.”

Just four of the 15 runners in this class posted clean sheets over the coloured poles and, although cross-country time penalties also affected the leaderboard, Robinson’s clear round saw her rise from eighth after the first phase to take the win on 35.2 with her five-year-old Belgian-bred Viva La Vida De Capri.

“He mainly show jumped this year,” she continued, “and he really impressed me in the Cavan Crystal five-year-old final. He felt super in the Michael Leonard last week [where the combination finished 10th], and then his show jumping round clinched the win today. I think he will go all the way. Le Lion is very much the aim and a long-term dream of mine,” concluded Robinson, who juggles competing with her work as a secondary school teacher and her three small children.

Dressage leaders Kim O’Gorman and Boleybawn Aalto (31) dropped to ninth when they added penalties in both jumping phases, but Mailin Sophie Meyer and Carrigshawn Zara climbed one spot to a close second (35.5), despite adding four show jumping penalties, while they were the only combination to finish inside the time allowed cross-country. John Tilley and Pedro Noire took third on 37.6.

A successful season

Tilley is the rider with the most runs, wins, cross-country clears and finishes on his dressage score (FODs) under Eventing Ireland rules this season and, true to form, he also landed both the Overlander EI110 (Open) and the Foran Equine EI100 at Barnadown.

While there were only three runners in the former, he nonetheless put in a convincing performance with the Womanizer-sired Irish Sport Horse Cooley Quickfire. The combination added just 1.6 time penalties to their dressage score to win on 29.4, while the Borris-based rider was also second on Grand Espoire (32.7).

The Foran Equine EI100 saw Tilley return to the top of the leaderboard with the five-year-old Dignified Van’t Zorgvliet mare Goldburgs Sister Act. Although several show jumping clears were recorded in this 24-runner class, that phase still took its toll on the final standings. Lying first and second after the Vicky Cloony-judged dressage phase, Molly O’Connor riding Lisbrogan Sarco and Heidi Hamilton riding Mount Atlas each left one rail on the floor to drop to second and third respectively (29 and 31).

Their faults cleared the way for Tilley, third after dressage, to take the win on 27.8. Ciara Kinsella was fourth with a double clear on another Dignified Van’t Zorgvliet offspring, Tykillen Dig Deep (31.8), ahead of Daragh Byrne riding Enniscrone Conticco, fifth on 33.3.

Both of the aforementioned kept clean sheets throughout the jumping phases, while sixth-placed Rosie Alcorn with Goodwins Boru finished on the same score as Byrne, but her tally included 0.8 of a penalty for finishing two seconds over the time allowed cross-country.

Third time lucky

It was a case of third time lucky for Heidi Hamilton and the Ros Devereux-owned and bred Realta Na Mara in the Foran Equine EI90. On her third affiliated appearance, the five-year-old Traditional Irish Horse by BGS Ocean View finished on her dressage score of 27.5. Just a fraction in arrears were Keira Crowther and another by Dignified Van’t Zorgvliet, OK Lucky Diamond (27.8), while Tilley featured again in third with another FOD on Lord Heffinick DEC (29.8).

Heidi Hamilton and Realta Na Mara won the EI90 at Barnadown \ Tony Walker Photography

Georgie Kelly and her Connemara pony Doireann claimed their first win of the season on their final opportunity when they emerged best of the seven runners in the Tony Walker Photography EI80. Second after dressage on 30.5, they were the only combination in the class to complete on their first phase score.

They reversed positions with early leaders Mailin Sophie Meyer and Hans Kuehnle’s Eventing Ireland debutant Tullibards VIP, who incurred penalties in both jumping phases to complete on 40.1. Rhia Donohoe and Frankie 2 took third on 52.

Over four years since his last Eventing Ireland start, the nine-year-old thoroughbred Where’s Walter won the Treo Eile Thoroughbred EI90, ridden by his owner Valerie Osborne. Their show jumping round for eight faults was the best among the three starters, with dressage leaders Francis Coonan and Sherlock Boum dropping to second when they left four rails on the floor.