THE Kilkenny International Sporthorses’ partnership of Andrew Williams and John Tilley were well rewarded for their early start last Tuesday morning to Tullylish where the Stevenson family hosted the first qualifier in this year’s Young Eventhorse Series.

Through their results here, the pair bagged three qualifying tickets for the young event horse classes at the Dublin Horse Show led by the Irish Sport Horse mare Goldburgs Sister Act (283.4), a Monart Sales graduate who won Section B of the four-year-old class by a wide margin.

Only 12th in the Burghley Young Event Horse qualifier at Millstreet but previously a winner during the Stepping Stones to Success league, the black daughter of Dignified van’t Zorgvliet was bred in Co Wexford by Nick Cousins out of the point-to-point-winning Saddlers’ Hall mare Mrs Hall who comes from the family of the Grade 1-winning hurdler Refinement.

Ellen Tracey qualified for Dublin when finishing second with the ISH mare Enniskerry Freestyle (274.9). Gwen Scott failed to do so although a close-up third with Brooklawn Diamond (274.7) but it was good to see the rider back in action having had to watch others compete on the eight horses she had prepped for last month’s Balmoral Show due to a back injury.

Paul Donovan owned the two Irish Sport Horse geldings by Coolkeeran who competed in Section A where his winner was the Sara Lundkvist-ridden Sportsfield Cool As Ice (283.1 points), a grey bred in Co Laois by Thomas Hutchinson out of the Alicante mare Ferona II who had amassed 107 Show Jumping Ireland points before retiring to stud.

Sportsfield Cool As Ice bagged the first of three Dublin Horse Show tickets on offer here ahead of the J.J. Bowe-owned, Ciara O’Connor-ridden Innisfree Chapo (281.5) and Clonagoose Romeo (277.8) who was ridden by Jonny Steele for owners Janet Hall and Sandra Hamilton.

The last-named, a bay gelding by Canturado, had finished fifth in the Burghley Young Event Horse qualifier in Millstreet the previous Thursday behind Milchem Giovanni who, on Tuesday, had to settle for sixth place (264.7).