IRELAND was victorious in the Young Rider Nations Cup held at Compiegne, France on Friday afternoon, with the Irish squad of Aidan O’Brien on Gisborne VDL, Tabitha Kyle on Desterly, Jenny Dunlop on Gidion B and Ben Walsh on Zenith VD Donkhoeve Z, with Paddy Reape in reserve, coming out on top of the nine teams who took on the 1.45m track.
The first round saw Kyle and Walsh jumping clear, while O’Brien and Dunlop each picked up four faults. This put Ireland on a score of four, equal with France at the halfway stage.
In round two, Kyle and Walsh completed impeccable double clear rounds, with O’Brien also jumping clear to ensure a second-round score of zero for Ireland, despite an unfortunate elimination for Dunlop. With an overall score of four, Ireland took the top spot on the podium, ahead of Germany in second place and Belgium in third, both on a score of eight, with Germany’s time the faster of the two.
In the ribbons
The Stade Equestre du Grand Parc in Compiegne was the venue for the latest Youth Nations Cup show from April 14th to 19th, where Ireland had teams contesting each of the four categories - ponies (12-16 years), children on horses (12-14 years), juniors (14-18 years) and young riders (16-21 years).
Horse inspections took place on Wednesday, with competitions commencing on Thursday morning. First up was the Prix Ravene Young Rider 1.40m speed class, which saw Tabitha Kyle finish eighth on Desterly, who jumped clear in 65.23. The winning time of 61.94 was recorded by Fergal Holohan (GBR) on Karima.
Thursday’s Under 25 1.25m speed class saw Lauren Adams and the seven-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare Coconut BW, bred by Ballywalter Bloodstock, finish ninth of 70 starters, 35 of whom jumped clear rounds.
The first of the Nations Cups held on Friday was for Junior riders and saw 10 teams lining up to take on the 1.40m track. Denis Flannelly’s Irish squad consisted of Jack Kent on Ollie van de Klotputten, Senan Reape on Creevagh Special, Annie Boland on Calisto Blanc and Lauren Adams on Caddie Z, with Alanna Fagan in reserve. The first round saw Reape, Adams and Kent all jumping clear, with Boland’s four faults being the discard score to keep Ireland on zero. Second time out, Reape and Kent completed double clear rounds, with Boland jumping clear and Adams picking up four faults this time. Ireland remained on a score of zero, as did the German team, so a jump-off was required to decide the top-two placings.
Runners-up
Only three riders from each squad needed to jump again, as Germany’s first three riders remained cool under pressure and all delivered clear rounds. Reape completed another flawless round for Ireland, while Adams and Boland each collected four faults, putting Ireland on a score of eight. The German team could not be caught at that point and secured first place, with Ireland settling for second, ahead of Sweden in third.
The Junior ‘In Between’ 1.40m speed class saw Ruby Lily Gaines and Emil 160 place ninth in the 26-strong class.
The Young Rider ‘In Between’ 1.45m speed class saw Ireland’s Billy Sinnott and Macgyver finish in eighth place.
In the 25-strong Pony 1.20m speed class, Robbie Sheehan took fifth place on Daytona with a clear round in 66.27, while the winner Anna Pouzadoux Brille on Hilda de Blonde stopped the clock in a speedy 61.05.
Close finish
Saturday saw the Pony Nations Cup being held over a 1.30m course, with eight teams taking part. The Irish team of Sam Widger on BP Bon Jovi, Saoirse O’Neill on Exodus Angies Rose, Ella Rush on Birchgrove Blue Delight and Daisy O’Dea on Griffondor Dream Dei, with Robbie Sheehan as reserve, finished as runners-up on a score of nine. In the first round, Rush jumped clear, with Widger picking up a single time penalty and O’Neill collecting four faults, while O’Dea suffered elimination, for a score of five, putting them in the lead at the halfway point.
Rush completed a double clear second time out, with O’Dea jumping clear and Widger picking up four faults and O’Neill being eliminated this time round, for a second-round score of four and an overall total of nine. France had finished the first round on eight faults, but a second-round score of zero meant that they stayed on eight to edge ahead of Ireland and claim the win. The Netherlands completed the podium in third on a score of 20.
Widger then showed his consistency when finishing as runner-up in the Pony 1.25m two-phase special, this time riding Barravalley Glory to a clear round in 35.05, only being beaten by Elise Thirion (BEL) on Oum in 33.28.
On the podium
The Young Rider and Junior 1.30m speed class saw Alex O’Connor finish on the podium in third with Cassido when clear in 67.51, while Boland placed eighth with Javeline de Nesque in 71.99.
The Children on Horses Nations Cup was held on Saturday afternoon with nine teams taking part. Denis Flannelly had selected Nina Smith on Count Me In, Willow Gavin on Easy Top de Courcel, Blathnaid Murphy on Godiva Quality and Zahara Kirby Casola on Seraphine van het Weidse Hof for his team, with Colm Widger as reserve.
It was a learning experience for these young athletes and they finished in eighth place. The podium places went to Belgium in first, Great Britain in second and France in third.
The Children on Horses ‘In Between’ 1.25m speed class saw Colm Widger finish in sixth place on board Jerenice Dysenbeeck Z.
On Sunday, Boland and Calisto Blanc placed fifth in the Junior 1.40m Grand Prix from a start list of 73, when they jumped a first-class double clear in a jump-off time of 45.34. The win went to Belgium’s Seppe Wouters on Libelle Asborne Z, who jumped double clear in a fast time of 37.83.
Ben Walsh finished on the podium in the Young Rider 1.45m Grand Prix, when he rode Adastra Milo to a double clear round in 39.84 to place third. Belgium’s Lauranne Spits won the class with Lylith in a time of 37.85.
O’Connor secured another podium finish in Sunday’s concluding Young Rider and Junior 1.30m two-phase special class, when riding Cassido clear in a time of 42.08. Liam Nilsson (SWE) won the class on HS Cool Case Z in 40.02.