THREE Irish riders finished in the top five of Sunday’s three-star 1.55m Grand Prix at Bolesworth International in England, with Waterford’s Anthony Condon the undisputed winner when he and the Pat and Lisa Hales-owned 11-year-old stallion Oviedo ‘S’ jumped the only double clear out of 49 starters, clocking a time of 49.86 in the jump-off.
Sven Joseph Hadley on Phenomene Bleu VDM was among the four combinations to make it through to the jump-off, but picked up four faults to finish in fourth place, while Sean Monaghan on Toyger incurred a single time penalty in round one to deny him a place in the jump-off, but he finished fifth.
Speaking after the class, Condon said: “I’m on top of the world – Oviedo S was unbelievable today. This is his first ever Grand Prix win, and it makes all the patience and time we’ve taken to produce him feel worth it. He’s always jumped clear at this level but lacked the speed – until now. I’m so grateful to my owners, my wife Laura and our kids – it’s a real team effort.”
In the ribbons
Week one of Bolesworth International began last Friday. This year, the show celebrates horsepower of different types, combining world-class show jumping, powerful supertrucks and high-performance supercars, for an unforgettable experience with a combined prize fund of £500,000 on offer across two weeks.
The opening three-star 1.30m speed class saw Peter Moloney place seventh with ECE Emer, while in the 1.15m Amateur speed class, Matilde Hughes Bravo rode Miss Belgium 111, owned by Marion Hughes, into third place. Another Hughes horse, HHS Fortune was steered into third place in the three-star 1.40m two-phase class by Michael Pender, from a huge start list of 95.
The three-star 1.50m Grand Prix qualifier saw three Irish riders in the top 10 – two of them being in the top five. Galway’s Jessica Burke fared best here, finishing in the runner-up spot with Good Star du Bary, followed by Pender on the nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding HHS Cyprus (Cornet Obolensky (BWP) x HHS Acorado (ISH) by Acorado (Holst)), bred by Marion Hughes, in fifth. Sean Monaghan wasn’t far behind in 10th place.
The day then saw two Irish riders on the podium in the one-star seven-year-old 1.30m two-phase special, where David Simpson took victory with Billy Whiskey, who stopped the second-phase clock in 33.78, with Sven Joseph Hadley on Maximum Numero Too HSH in third, just 0.25 seconds behind in 34.03. The pair were separated by Britain’s Pippa Goddard on PDV Constanza (33.90).
Hadley then rode Casla Dawn into second place in the one-star five-year-old 1.10m two-phase special and also took fourth place in the six-year-old 1.20m equivalent on Toleen ST. Hadley was on a roll, then placing third in the first division of the one-star 1.25m two-phase special on board HSH Harper du Seigneur, while Niamh Devlin on HHS Toronto placed fourth in the second division.
Jack Ryan took the top spot in the Under 25 1.35m two-phase qualifier riding Cornascriebe Emerald, with Marta Hughes Bravo in fourth with HHS Figero. Hadley was back on the podium in the one-star 1.25m two-phase special when third on HSH Harper du Seigneur.
The Irish featured again in Saturday’s three-star 1.40m speed class, when Pender rode Madgeslane Louis into second place, followed by Monaghan on Tiberio Della Caccia in fourth.
Irish win
Kildare’s Pender showed his class when winning the three-star 1.45m speed class, a Grand Prix qualifier, with the 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare HHS Fortune (Catoki (HOLST) x HHS Daisy (ISH) by Ard Vdl Douglas (KWPN)), bred and owned by Marion Hughes, when his clear round in 60.89 was almost two seconds ahead of British runner-up John Whitaker on Sharid (62.84).
Pender commented after his win: “I’m delighted with today’s result, it’s always a pleasure to be at Bolesworth and, to have a result like this today, [is the] icing on the cake. HHS Fortune is always very fast and I’m very lucky to ride such a fantastic and competitive horse.
“I had her out in UAE at the start of our 2025 campaign, where she went fantastically too - forever grateful to Al Shira’aa for the opportunities they have created within the sport.”
Hadley placed ninth along with Team Hadley in the Ride and Drive class, riding HSH Harper du Seigneur.
Puissance win
Brendan Murphy was a joint winner of the three-star Puissance, when he rode the 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Erne Riverrun (Antaeus x Erne Clover z by Aldatus Z), bred and owned by Hugh Fitzpatrick, clear over five rounds, at which point he and Britain’s Rachel Proudley on Easy Boy de Laubry Z shared the spoils, having both cleared the imposing wall at 2.20m. Hadley and Brandonview First Edition placed joint seventh in the class
Afterwards, Murphy said: “It’s brilliant - we only came over to Bolesworth with the one horse, so to pull off a win - it’s been amazing.” Erne Riverrun hadn’t been fit to compete at the RDS qualifier at Mullingar, so their attention had turned to Bolesworth, which turned out to be a good decision.
The one-star 1.30m two-phase special, division one, saw Hadley finish second on board Make It Easy, followed by Ella Quigley on Horinde H in third, with Hadley second again in the second division, this time riding HSH Harper du Seigneur.
The 1.05m Amateur speed class saw Caroline Gibson on Clintendro finish fourth of the 43 starters, while Simpson on Billy Whiskey claimed fourth in the day’s one-star seven-year-old 1.30m two-phase special. Simpson then concluded the day by placing third in the three-star 1.35m two-phase class with Billy Piccadilly.
Bravo
Sunday started well for Matilde Hughes Bravo, when she and Miss Belgium 111 won the 1.15m Amateur jump-off class, while the one-star six-year-old 1.25m final saw Condon on High Offley The Colour Of Money finish seventh, with Adam Morgan on Octavio in eighth.
The one-star 1.25m two-phase class saw Monaghan place third on Roger de Mariposa, while Aisling Byrne finished seventh and eighth on Celeste SPB Z and Chin Cham Cham respectively. Byrne then placed ninth in the 1.30m two-phase class with Cnoc Rua Chinook (ISH).
Quigley was runner-up in the Under 25 1.35m speed class with I, jumping clear in a time of 59.49. Charlotte Young (GBR) and Falay de Beauvois could not be caught when they clocked a time of 56.90.
On Monday, Ryan and Cornascriebe Emerald placed fourth in the Under 25 1.40m final, with an unfortunate four faults in the first round precluding them from the jump-off.
The day’s three-star 1.35m two-phase class saw Peter Moloney place eighth with ECE Emer, while in the one-star 1.30m jump-off class, Shane Moloney and Drumiller Da Vinci placed third, ahead of Niamh Devlin on HHS Toronto in sixth.
The one-star 1.35m final saw Monaghan finish fourth with Roger de Mariposa, with Shane Moloney on Rosco Galways Glory in seventh.
The last class to finish on Monday was the one-star seven-year-old 1.35m Final, which saw Pender on HHS Flonix (ISH) finish as runners-up, followed by Burke on Nibelle in sixth. Action continues into this weekend with CSI4* competition.