GILFORD’s Steven Smith rode five Irish Sport Horse geldings at Tyrella 3 last Saturday, two of whom won, two others were placed and even the one who finished 11th of 25 in the EI100, Sinetta, did so on his dressage score behind two of his stable-companions.

“I’m very grateful to the Northern Region committee and volunteers, led by Dora Beacom, for providing Eventing Ireland members with the opportunity to compete this spring,” said Smith who initiated his brace in the 10-runner EI110 (Open) where he completed the only double clear inside the time on CJO Kann Surprise (30.5).

Kilkenny-based John Tilley held the lead with Wellfields Casino Royal (26) following Martina McKinley’s judging of the dressage phase but a fence down in the show jumping arena, along with 1.6 time penalties, led to a finishing score of 31.6.

A winner of the five-year-old young event horse championship at Dublin in 2022, when also landing an EI100 on his debut, CJO Kann Surprise has been produced slowly through the grades, winning a six-year-old HSI Studbook series class at Rosanna (June 2023) and an EI110 at Tyrella 4 last season. On his previous start this year (Tyrella 1), he was runner-up behind another stable-mate, Tullaher Paudie.

An eight-year-old Kannan gelding, CJO Kann Surprise was bred out of the Lux Z mare CJO Curiosity Lux by the late Trevor Overend whose wife Caroline, a Northern Region sponsor through her Clogher Valley Dental Care practice, now owns the bay along with their daughter, Carla Leitch.

Double

Smith doubled up in the EI10, completing on his first phase score with his wife Jenny’s Tyrella 2 winner You Neek (20.8), the John Kearney-bred Diamond Roller gelding who topped the final leaderboard in the five-year-old young event horse championship at Dublin last August.

Here he finished second with Campbell McLean’s HHS Cornet six-year-old Annaghmore Cornoko, who had topped graduate judge Jennifer Marshall’s marks in the dressage phase (18.3) but had a fence down show jumping, and fifth on his Lancelot six-year-old Lachain Lance.

The young horses held sway on Saturday with Amanda Goldsbury slotting into third with Carol Coad’s six-year-old Clarimo mare Cooley Clarissma (24.8), who was making her graded debut, while on the same score, David O’Connor placed fourth on the Tyrella 2 winner, Desdemona, a six-year-old daughter of Cormint.

Finding Nemo

Older animals dominated in the EI90. Poppy McMurray enjoyed a very successful first season with Eventing Ireland last year on Finding Nemo. The pair placed on all three starts, ending with a reserve slot in the 25-runner EI90 (P) national championship at Kilguilkey House in September.

Now competing in open company, McMurray and Shane Cullen’s 16-year-old skewbald gelding improved from their third-place finish at Tyrella 1 to see off 22 of their 23 rivals on Saturday. Also completing on the same Rosie Gomes-awarded dressage score (30) to divide the spoils were Cayleigh Erwin and the 13-year-old bay gelding Murph.

Eimear Watson recorded a narrow victory in the EI80 on her Irish Draught mare Gaurlin Lady (26.3), a 16-year-old grey by Huntingfield Rebel. There was one withdrawal in this 31-runner class while six others failed to complete. Two were eliminated in the show jumping phase and the others experienced the same fate across the country for a variety of reasons.