THE first of two consecutive Eventing Ireland Northern Region one-day events at Hazeldene Farm was held in glorious weather conditions last Saturday when Andrew and Laura Napier organised a big screen so that spectators – and others if they had a break – could follow the cross-country action at Badminton, eating well and perhaps enjoying a cocktail or two at the same time.

As he had been out aggravating the course until midnight on Thursday and had spent the following day watering the track, Andrew Napier well deserved some time to relax at the close of play on Saturday. He gave up his rides on this occasion, but Laura took over on Hazeldene Elsa on whom she competed hors concours in the EI100.

Event secretary Dora Beacom had to work double time to organise the running order for this event as so many southern and underage riders cancelled their entry once Ballindenisk advertised their fixture on Wednesday of this week. Between that Co Cork event and the 5* international across the water, Saturday’s results looked more like those one would expect to see at a Northern Region event with Steven Smith playing a starring role.

That is apart from the five-runner EI115 (Open) where the Gilford rider, who picked up 8.4 cross-country time penalties, had to settle for second on Newferry Jagermeister (45.7). The winner was Co Kildare’s Jack O’Haire who, with the fastest round over the fixed fences (two time penalties), claimed the honours on the Westphalian gelding Christopher Robin 2 (37.5), who is now owned by the rider’s father James in partnership with Patricia Heffernan.

O’Haire junior began campaigning the 15-year-old son of Christoph Columbus at the start of this season and this was their fifth outing as a combination. In mid-April they won the 17-strong EI110 (Open) at Tyrella (4) and followed that up with a sixth-place finish, from 35 starters, in the CCI2*-L at Ballindenisk. O’Haire is due to ride Christopher Robin 2 at Hazeldene (2) today as he needs another MER before heading off to Millstreet where Saturday’s winner will be one of five rides for the 19-year-old. His father James and brother Tadhg will have one apiece.

Domination

The Smith Brothers Eventing yard dominated the rest of the higher-graded classes starting with Casey Webb who, with what was easily the fastest cross-country round (4.4 penalties), landed the eight-runner EI115 on the traditionally-bred ISH mare Ballygrennan Break who will compete on at this level to gain experience before being aimed at a CCI3*-S towards the end of the season.

The nine-year-old Pointilliste mare, who was making her debut at this level, was bred by Valerie Breen who was there in support along with her husband Maurice and their daughter Louise who was checking results from her final veterinary exams online.

Steven Smith partnered three winners. He recorded a runaway success in the five-runner EI110 (Open) when completing on his impressive dressage score (18.8 penalties) with Maureen Brown’s ISH mare Fleur De Lis, a 13-year-old bay by Hold Up Premier.

There were 15 starters in the EI110, four of whom were eliminated while one retired over the Andrew Napier-designed, Nigel Napier-built cross-country course. Steven Smith was two seconds over the time in both jumping phases on the ISH gelding You Neek, who lowered one of the coloured poles, but still ran out a most comprehensive winner (27.1). This was a third win in four starts for the Diamond Roller bay who won the five-year-old young event horse championship at Dublin last August and is being aimed at the CCIYH2*-S for six and seven-year-olds at Millstreet.

The Smith hat-trick came up in the 29-strong EI100 but here the result was a lot closer as, on board Marshall and Sarah Riley’s Tyrella (4) winner Watermolen Cooley, a seven-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Voltaire, Smith completed on his joint-winning flat work score of 21.5 penalties as did Jim Newsam with the EI newcomer Extra Chic d’Urfé. However, in a class where the optimum time was 5m 34secs, Newsam and that 14-year-old Selle Francais gelding by Ulpien d’Elle lost out as they came through the finish in 5.25 while Smith was two seconds slower (5.27) on Watermolen Cooley.

One-two

Lee Bloomfield, a student at the Smith Brothers Gilford yard and CAFRE, filled the top two places in the EI110 (J) where some in the 12-runner field might not have been too busy.

Bloomfield took the win on board Virginia Maguire’s home-bred thoroughbred gelding Handsome Starr, an unraced 13-year-old bay by September Storm whose total of 33.4 included 2.4 cross-country time penalties, while he finished second on the previous weekend’s Vesey Lodge winner, Susan O’Shea’s BGS Tea Or Coffee (37.9) who, too, failed to beat the clock on the final phase (5.6 penalties).

There were just four starters in EI110 (Amateur) where, following one withdrawal and two eliminations for an unseating and a fall on the flat, Nichola Wray bagged her fourth win of the campaign on her reigning national champion Dylan AKA Springhill Showman (40.8) who had two fences down show jumping.

There were five starters but no finishers in the EI110 (P). One combination was eliminated following a rider fall in the show jumping phase after which another withdrew. Of the three who started on the cross-country course, one combination parted company at fence 10 while two others completed but without jumping fence 18.