SARAH Curry, who is working with Sophie Richards at Barnadown during her Transition Year, narrowly won the Childeric four-year-old final on the Irish Sport Horse gelding Ramello as the 2025 Stepping Stones to Success league reached its conclusion at Wexford Equestrian on Wednesday.

The chesnut, who amassed 215.9 points, is owned by 16-year-old Curry and his breeder, Maurice Cousins. A member of the first small crop of Jacadello (a son of Cascadello I), he is out of the Ramiro B mare Diro whose previous progeny include the Dignified van’t Zorgvliet mare Be The One (CSI4*).

Curry and Ramello completed on a total of 215.9 points to narrowly beat the Patrick Whelan-ridden, Julie Radden-owned Tomgar Valour (215.6) into second with the John Tilley-partnered Goldberg’s Sister Act, a black mare by Dignified van’t Zorgvliet, over 10 points adrift in third (205.1).

Whelan however comfortably claimed the league honours on the Goresbridge Go For Gold Sale graduate Tomgar Valour, a bay ISH gelding by Imnotafraidfortuna who was bred in Co Wexford by Walter Kent out of Overton Whitby (by Lansdown). Daniel Alderson finished second with Oliver Steele’s Urlanmore Vivant Cruise (26.5) with Curry placing third on Ramello (24).

The organisers and Childeric Saddles’ Elliott Reeves, who attended each leg of the league and the final, were delighted with the large entry in both young event horse classes.

Usually only those in with a chance of getting into the league prize-money turn up on finals day but there were 24 starters in the four-year-old class on Wednesday and 24 five-year-olds.

Hopefully, we will see the majority of these in the Dublin young event horse qualifiers which is definitely the route Curry is going to take with Ramello.

As the series’ leading Junior rider under 18, Curry was presented with the Tiggy’s Trust perpetual trophy, and the perpetual shield awarded by Jessica Harrington, while Canadian national Chanelle Martin, who is working at Tullibards Stud and finished sixth in the four-year-old final on Tullibards Mighty Boy (199.5), was the recipient of the J.J. Sheffield training bursary.