ANNA Radford and Essenar Double Dutch (ISH) recorded their first FEI win in the Connolly’s Red Mills CCIP2-S. Owned by her mother Maria, the chesnut mare by Luidam showed her class in all three phases, leading from the outset. The Ground Jury of Vanda Stewart, Paula Geiger and Faith Ponsonby awarded a score of 26.7 penalties to Radford, a personal best at International level.

“I was nervous to try and hold onto the lead after getting that score, but Dutch was fantastic in both jumping phases!” a delighted Radford commented. With sights set on selection for the Pony European Championships in Le Mans, France at the end of July, Radford has built quite a relationship with the mare. “We’ve had her since she was three years old and I would really love to finish off our pony years together on a high!” Radford took home the Grace Tyrell Perpetual Trophy presented by the Tyrell Family in memory of their beloved daughter.

Hannah Goold and the seven-year-old gelding Paddys Best (ISH) were the only combination to achieve the optimum time across the cross-country phase, climbing from 12th after dressage to sit third overnight heading into the show jumping. They only added four penalties to their dressage score of 38.1, which was good enough for an eventual second.

Suzie Cosgrove and the seasoned-campaigner, Kilcoltrim Swift, had to settle for third place after two fences down on the final day. A first phase score of 27.1 penalties had them in second place and, even though they added 8.4 time penalties on the cross-country course, they maintained their position on the leaderboard. Two early rails on the ground saw them drop one place to finish third, still marking their highest placing to date at FEI level.