DERRY’S Daniel Coyle was a clear winner at the Major League Show Jumping fixture in Amenia, New York on Saturday, when he won the five-star $31,100 MLSJ Individual Round class with Calippo 57. The pair came out best of the 39 starters in the class, with the fastest of 19 clear rounds in 65.09 seconds - more than two seconds ahead of runner-up Erynn Ballard (CAN) on Genius De Rance (67.42). Shane Sweetnam and Pia Maria H placed sixth in 70.47, just ahead of Charlotte Jacobs (USA) on the 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Rincoola Milsean (Aldatus Z x Rincoola Abu by Cruising, bred by Harold McGahern, Co Longford) in 71.36.

Jacobs and her mount were on the winning Trelawny Trailblazers team in the $200,000 Clip My Horse/ Misson Foods MLSJ Team class, along with Alex Matz (Clarimo) and Marlon Modolo Zanotelli (Rockwell RC), while Sweetnam and Pia Maria H were part of the second-placed Roadrunners team, partnered by Kaitlin Campbell on Karius and McLain Ward on First Lady.

Runner-up

The five-star 1.40m warm-up two-phase class at the Hudson Valley Highlands Cup show on Thursday saw 76 combinations on the start list, of whom just seven jumped clear within the time allowed to make it through to the jump-off. None of them completed double clear, with the top two each picking up a single time penalty. Sweetnam was one of them, riding Pia Maria H to claim the runner-up spot in a time of 29.73. Erynn Ballard (CAN) was slightly faster with Genius De Rance, securing first place in 29.29. Nina Mallevaey (FRA) rode the Irish Sport Horse mare My Clementine, bred by David Prentice, into 10th place in the class.

Irish riders claimed three of the top-10 placings in Friday’s 43-strong five-star $181,170 1.55m Airshare Grand Prix qualifier. With only the top six making it through to the jump-off, Jordan Coyle on For Gold, Simon McCarthy on Igor GPH and Sweetnam on James Kann Cruz were the fastest of the four-faulters to place seventh, eighth and ninth respectively.

Sweetnam best of Irish

Sunday’s five-star $340,000 Highlands Cup Grand Prix saw 36 combinations lining up to take on the Gregory Bodo and Pieter Vitse-designed track over 14 fences, with 17 jumping efforts. Twelve combinations jumped clear within the time in round one to book a place in the timed decider, with Daniel Coyle on the nine-year-old Mourinho showing great promise, clearing all the fences but picking up a single time fault, precluding them from the jump-off.

Sweetnam was best of the Irish, placing sixth with James Kann Cruz, when they clocked the fastest time in the decider (34.38), but picked up an unlucky four faults in the process. Mallevaey (FRA) and My Clementine (ISH) finished just behind in seventh (4/34.81). The win went to Israel’s Mark Bluman on Landon De Nyze in 36.32.

The concluding five-star class, the $31,100 1.45m Bridlemont Winning Round class, saw 24 on the start list, 13 of whom jumped clear in the first round, with the best 10 proceeding to jump again. Jordan Coyle and For Gold were best of the Irish here, when being the fastest four-faulter in the jump-off - they were the only pair to break the 40-second barrier, clocking 39.44, but picked up four faults in the process. Younger brother Daniel rode Calippo 57 into ninth place, ahead of David O’Brien on El Balou OLD in 10th.