WESTMEATH’s Ted Fagan and Ballyfore Rosie once again illustrated their talent, when winning the FEI Jumping Ponies’ Trophy 1.35m CWD Grand Prix held at the Longines Equita Lyon, Concours Hippique International in France on Saturday.

The class saw 24 of the most talented ponies and riders from around Europe taking on the challenging first-round track, with 13 of them jumping clear to proceed to the jump-off. An impressive nine of those managed to complete without fault, but Ted and his 10-year-old mare clocked the fastest time of 34.02 to claim the red ribbon. Belgian rider Maureen Bourse on Galliano d’Argan was next best in 34.72, with Anna Pouzadoux Brille (FRA) on Harmony de Curaine completing the podium in third (35.06).

Fagan was delighted with the win and said of Ballyfore Rosie: “I’m really lucky to have this pony. She’s amazing. I know she can go really fast, so I took a few risks in the jump-off and it paid off. In the past, my sister used to ride her. I started working with her two years ago and we’ve had lots of good results since then. Lyon is a great competition and I’m delighted to have won here.”

This win adds another international achievement to a super season for Fagan, in which he won double European silver, and moves him to the top of the overall standings after the second leg of the FEI Jumping Ponies’ Trophy, with two legs still to go at Stuttgart (November 11th-15th) and Salzburg (December 2nd-6th).

In Friday’s FEI Jumping Ponies’ Trophy Prix CWD 1.25m speed class, Fagan and Ballyfore Rosie finished just off the podium in fourth, ahead of Charlie Flynn on Montana in sixth place from a start list of 25. Both jumped clear rounds.

McAuley fourth in Grand Prix

The five-star 1.60m Grand Prix saw Louth’s Mark McAuley place fourth out of 44 starters. McAuley and Clooney van Spalbeek Z were among 12 to jump clear in the first round to book a place in the jump-off. There, they were among the fastest of the four-faulters (44.82) - just being pipped to a podium place by Martin Fuchs (SUI) on Lorde, who also rolled a pole and stopped the clock in 43.99. Henrik von Eckermann (SWE) on Hylanderhof’s Saruschka were the only pair to jump double clear to take the win, with runner-up Megane Moissonnier (FRA) on Glamour du Lys picking up a single time penalty.

McAuley and Clooney van Spalbeek Z finished on the podium, when third in Saturday’s two-round 1.60m Equita Masters class, in which there were no double clears. McAuley jumped one of very few clears in the first round and picked up three time penalties in round two when clocking 54.79. Penelope Leprevost (FRA) on Hileklaire Un Prince also finished on three faults, but their slightly faster time of 53.97 secured them the runner-up berth. Martin Fuchs (SUI) on Fave d’Authuit took the top spot with one time penalty in 52.82.

The show concluded with the 40-strong Longines FEI Jumping World Cup class on Sunday afternoon where, after a 14-horse jump-off, it was a home win for French man Julien Epaillard on Le Coultre de Muze when they stopped the clock in 38.17, just 0.03 seconds ahead of Richard Vogel (GER) on Cloudio (38.20), while Edouard Schmitz (SUI) on Gamin van’t Naastveldhof placed third in 38.31.

After this second leg, Martin Fuchs leads the current overall standings on 23 points, with Epaillard’s win moving him to joint second place, along with Oslo winner Max Kuhner (AUT) on 20. Eoin McMahon is the highest-placed Irish rider at this stage in joint 15th place on nine points.