IRISH riders made their presence felt at Thermal in California over the weekend, with Co Down’s Conor Swail and Co Meath’s Cian O’Connor both securing multiple podium finishes individually, while Michael Duffy claimed a podium place in the team competition.

The Desert Holiday I five-star fixture, which included leg six of the current Major League Show Jumping series, ran at Desert International Horse Park in Thermal from December 2 until 7, with courses built by Ireland’s Alan Wade and Colm Quinn.

On Thursday last, Swail finished on the podium in the two-star $32,000 1.45m speed class on board Theo 160, jumping clear in a time of 58.64. Swail was just marginally behind Canadian runner-up Erynn Ballard on Chatadel PS, who clocked 58.51, but the clear winner was Charlotte Jacobs (USA) on the 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse Rincoola Milsean (Aldatus Z x Rincoola Abu by Cruising), bred by Harold McGahern in Co Longford, who finished almost two seconds ahead of Ballard, in a time of 56.56.

Clean sheet

Swail was back on the podium again on Thursday, when he and the nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Clonterm Obolensky (Cornet Obolensky x She Has The Lux by Lux Z), bred by Brian Duff, placed third in the five-star $182,000 1.55m Grand Prix qualifier. There were 38 starters in the class, with nine of them jumping clear in round one to get through to the jump-off, where only three combinations kept a clean sheet. McLain Ward (USA) and First Lady took the top spot in a very fast time of 36.01, ahead of French runner-up Nina Mallevaey on Dynastie De Beaufour (36.95), with Swail’s steadier round in 41.59 enough to claim the $27,300 third prize.

Friday saw Cian O’Connor and Pegasus finish on the podium in the five-star $62,500 1.50m MLSJ 1.50m speed class, when they were third of the 37 starters, 15 of whom jumped clear within the allocated time. O’Connor’s time of 72.98 was within half a second of winner Erynn Ballard (CAN) on Her Game Ball BG, who stopped the clock in 72.53, while Gregory Wathelet (BEL) on Argentina De La Marchette slotted into second place in 72.82.

The five-star $200,000 1.50m MLSJ team competition also took place on Friday and saw Michael Duffy on the third-placed Helios team riding BE Sky Hawk, where a clear first round contributed to a positive result. Duffy’s team mates Rene Dittmer (GER) on Cody 139 and Richard Vogel (GER) on Con Quality each jumped two clear rounds. Maccabi United took the win, followed by Archers in second.

Charlotte Jacobs and Rincoola Milsean (ISH) won the two-star $32,000 1.45m speed class at Thermal, California \ High Desert Sport Photo

Winning round

There were two Irish riders in the top 10 of the five-star $62,500 1.50m Winning Round class on Saturday, which saw a start list of 34. Eleven combinations jumped clear within the time allowed in round one, with the best 10 proceeding to the ‘Winning Round’. O’Connor and Pegasus were back on the podium again in third when jumping double clear in a time of 33.92, just 0.7 seconds behind the winner, Gregory Wathelet (BEL) on Argentina De La Marchette, who finished in 33.22, followed by Arturo Parada Vallejo (MEX) on Bordeaux in second (33.55). David F O’Brien rode Coleccini into seventh place as the fastest four-faulter in round two.

Grand Prix

Saturday night saw the five-star $750,000 1.60m Coachella Cup Grand Prix being held, with 35 combinations lining up to try and win a slice of the generous prize fund. Eleven of these jumped clear in the first round to book their place in the jump-off, including two Irish men. O’Connor rode Kentucky TN into sixth place with a double clear in 38.81, while Swail and Casturano finished just outside the top 10 when picking up some faults for 11th place.

It was an all-American podium, with the win going to Laura Kraut on Bisquetta (36.27), with McLain Ward on High Star Hero in second (36.3) and Skylar Wireman on Barclino B in third (36.43).