WHAT’s rare is wonderful, as they say, so we might as well make use of the rare opportunity of highlighting the wins in affiliated eventing of a grandfather and grandson on the same day.

First step forward Denis Currie who, on his winning dressage score (25 penalties), landed the six-runner EI110 (Amateur) at Vesey Lodge last Saturday to notch up his seventh success of the season on Merlot, his 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding by Lancelot. Naomi Buchanan finished second with Mezcal, whose total of 29.6 included 1.6 show jumping time penalties.

The family double came up later in the day in the eight-runner non-restricted EI90, where Currie’s grandson, Isaac McCarthy, likewise led throughout on Dawn Carlisle’s Suirvalley Little Monkey (20).

Representing the Iveagh Branch and Area 17 at The Pony Club championships in Offchurch Bury last month, McCarthy had partnered the 19-year-old gelding to finish reserve in the ride-off for individual Novice dressage championship honours and place sixth in his individual PC90 eventing championship. Obviously, plans to draw a halt to their eventing campaign at that point were changed.

Back to the Amateurs, and the EI100 (Amateur) to be specific, where following three second-place finishes on her last three starts, Chloe Lister-Tinsley moved up from third to first when completing on her flat work score with the traditionally-bred Blackstone Ruby (29), a nine-year-old daughter of HTS Blackrock. This was a fifth outing of the season for Lister-Tinsley, who took time out following the 2022 campaign to start a family.

With four show jumping penalties apiece, Samantha Dale and Hollie Smith finished second and third respectively on Keonan Hero (31) and Mr Diceman (32.8).

There were only five starters in the EI90 (Amateur), where the early leaders lost their hold on the top spots in the show jumping arena, leaving Rachel Williams on Entwhistle Swann Song and Lindsay Martin with Meadowspring briefly sharing the honours on 27 penalties. A closer look at the scores, resulted in the win being awarded to Williams on her father Phillip Swann’s seven-year-old ISH mare by Glenhill Gold, who were also on the mark at Loughanmore seven days earlier.