BALLINDENISK International marks the beginning of the Irish International event calendar and Padraig McCarthy kicked off his season in style with MGH Zabaione (ISH).

Speaking after his win, McCarthy remarked how special the horse is being a home-bred, but also about his future. “I have my eye on the World Championships next year for him,” so it was no surprise to see him in Aachen during the summer for the Nations Cup Class. Another strong performance there, finishing in eighth, leaves them as a strong contention for selection next year.

A host of Irish winners throughout the results included Momo Sheehy and TMX Herby winning the CCI3*-L, Sam Watson and Ballybolger Goldman winning the CCI2*-L, Joseph Murphy and Barberstown Castle Rehy taking the CCI3*-S. In the CCI4*-S, it was the Badminton 2024 champion, Greenacres Special Cavalier (ISH) and Caroline Powell who took the title and Powell commented on it being the “perfect set up for their return to defend their title”. As it turns out, the fairytale double at Badminton wasn’t on the cards for Powell and the Michael Callery-bred mare.

Gemma Stevens had a fantastic week at Millstreet International over the June bank holiday weekend, recording wins in the CCI4*-L and CCI3*-L with Flash Cooley (ISH) and Cooley Park Muze (ISH) respectively. Stevens commented on the good ground conditions and how lucky she is to have the horses she has: “I’m so grateful to my owners for keeping such wonderful horses with me - it’s great to be able to share days like this with them!”

Kevin McNab has competed around the world, but after his win in the CCI4*-S class on Faro Imp, he said that “there aren’t many better cross-country tracks in the world and that’s why we keep coming back”. This combination won the CCIYH2*-S for six-year-olds back in 2022 and closed out this season making their debut at CCI5*-L at Pau. Joseph Murphy and Barberstown Castle Rehy posted their second international win of the year in the CCI3*-S and this combination made the step up to four-star level later in the season.

Momo Sheehy with TMX Herby, winner of the CCI3*-L at Ballindenisk International (1) 2025 \ Pam Cunningham/Irish Eventing Times

An unfortunate crossover with both the FEI European Championships for Juniors and Young Riders and the newly-minted Scone Palace International Horse Trials meant that the entry list for Lisgarvan International featured fewer than normal international guests, but the winners list could have told a different story. Caroline Powell recorded another successful trip to the emerald isle with a win in the CCI4*-L with Tik Tok (WSI), a nine-year-old gelding bred in Ireland by Claire Wood. Powell also took home the top place with another Michael Callery-bred horse, Greenacres Special Touch. Powell has high hopes for the eight-year-old gelding. “He’s actually a relation of Cav’s and I think he’s just as special too!” she commented after her win.

Dr Sarah Hughes’ 16-year-old gelding Barrichello rolled back the years and proved unbeatable in the CCI4*-S with Cathal Daniels in the saddle. Leading from the outset and only adding 0.4 time penalties in the show jumping phase, the combination recorded one of only five clear rounds inside the time over the Paul Brady-designed cross-country course. “I’m really delighted to win this class with Barrichello - he’s a real competitor,” Daniels said afterwards. “It’s great to have him back at top sport.”

Celebration

The final international of the season was combined with the Fell family hosting a celebration of 50 years of eventing at Ballindenisk. A huge entry turned out to join in the celebrations and the weekend was filled with action, with classes catering for young horses right up to the CCI4*-L level. Hayden Hankey recorded the win aboard the 12-year-old gelding, Fools In Love. This combination had a successful season, placing in the top 10 at each of their four starts at the level this year. “I bought him as a five-year-old from my good friend Jim Derwin and have produced him up through the levels,” a delighted Hankey shared, noting that he would be aimed at Badminton CCI5*-L in the spring of next year.

Swedish rider Therese Viklund and Sella (SWB) won the second feature class. The eight-year-old, co-owned with the rider by breeder Lena Nystrom, was one of only two competitors to achieve the optimum time on the cross-country course and left her at the top of the leaderboard. A horse she’s known since a foal, Viklund has “done the whole journey with her, competing at the World Breeding Championships in Le Lion d’Angers twice, finishing fourth as a six-year-old and 12th as a seven-year-old.”

Another winning rider to have produced the horse through the levels was Emily Young-Jamieson and Klaas-Jan B, who have been a partnership since the Canabis Z-sired gelding was a three-year-old.

An unfortunate mid-season injury to Young-Jamieson meant they had “been chasing his three-star long qualification, which meant we missed a few opportunities, so I’m delighted to have not only got the qualification but the win is the icing on the cake!”

Ben Connors and OLS King Aragon were on the silver medal winning Irish team at the FEI Eventing European Championship 2025 in Strzegom, Poland \ FEI

Underage medals

Dag Albert and his young rider squad claimed team silver at the FEI Eventing European Championships for Young Riders and Juniors at Strzegom in Poland in August. The team of Ben Connors, Godfrey Gibbons, Momo Sheehy and Tom Nestor held the lead going into the final phase, but were eventually overtaken by France and took home the silver medal.

In the individual results, Momo Sheehy with HHS Noble Call (ISH) were best of the Irish in eighth, just ahead of Godfrey Gibbons and Kilroe Lego Land (ISH) in ninth and Ben Connors with OLS King Aragon (ISH) in 10th. Connors has been recently announced as FEI Eventing Junior world number one after a hugely successful season, clocking up four top 10 finishes at CCI3* level.