TYRONE’S Niamh McEvoy won the four-star Medium Tour 1.50m Grand Prix at the Andalucia Sunshine Tour on Sunday, riding the nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding BP Rocket Man. Nine of the 13 jump-off combinations kept all the fences intact second time round, with McEvoy’s time of 38.45 proving fastest. It was a close finish, with the top three within half a second of each other.

A few classes later, McEvoy was close to making it a Grand Prix double, when she and Olympic GL FVD were runners-up in the four-star 1.55m Grand Prix stopping the clock in 44.97, only being bettered by Brazilian winner Stephan de Freitas Barcha on Chevaux Primavera Imperio Egipcio (44.30). Jason Foley and Chedington Hazy Toulana placed fifth in the class.

Young horses

Week seven of the Andalucia Sunshine Tour at Vejer de la Frontera in Spain commenced on Tuesday, March 17th, with young horse classes. The second division of the day’s one-star seven-year-old 1.40m speed class saw Eoin Brennan and GCS Angelina place eighth, followed by Jessica Burke on Rial’s Varinjo in 10th. Grace McHugh and Bawnlusk Cleopatra were among the joint winners of the first divide of the day’s five-year-old 1.15m class, while in the second, Greg Broderick on Vicento V and Chloe Fenton on Rainbow TN shared the honours.

Michelle Kenny on HSC Renee placed ninth in the day’s one-star eight-year-old 1.40m speed class, while Jodie Creighton rode Creevyquinn Ace into eighth place in their division of the one-star six-year-old 1.25m two-phase special class. In the second division, Conor Drain placed ninth on board Cartouche B van Speyhoeve Z.

Young horses took centre stage again on Wednesday, when Brennan and GCS Angelina were runners-up in the final seven-year-old 1.40m jump-off class, followed by Jennifer Kuehnle on Jasmin d’Ariel in fourth. Foley and Castlefield Paris won the final five-year-old 1.20m class, with Broderick on Vicento V in eighth and McHugh on Bawnlusk Cleopatra in 10th.

On form

The Farewell six-year-old 1.25m speed class saw Kuehnle and BP le Tara finish fifth, followed by Drain and Cartouche B van Speyhoeve Z in seventh. Meanwhile, the final six-year-old 1.30m jump-off class was won by Sean Monaghan riding Echo BW, with Broderick on Doris V Z in fourth place and Creighton on Creevyquinn Ace in ninth.

Four-star competition kicked off on Thursday and the Big Tour 1.35m speed class saw McHugh ride Cruising With Alice into seventh place, while Max O’Reilly Hyland and BP Limitless won the Medium Tour 1.40m speed class.

Kuehnle placed fourth in the day’s Farewell seven-year-old 1.35m speed class on board Catharina Z, with Drain on Asher Waldstar Z in ninth, while Shane O’Reilly on Billy Santandiago took ninth in the four-star Medium Tour 1.30m speed.

The Big Tour 1.30m two-phase special saw Joanne Sloan Allen and Liana finish fourth, followed by Michael Pender on Madgeslane Louis in seventh.

On Friday, the Big Tour 1.50m speed class saw McEvoy take sixth with BP Rocket Man, followed by Foley on Chedington Hazy Toulana in seventh and Monaghan on Chef of Flanders Fields Z in eighth.

Irish one-two

There was an Irish one-two in the one-star eight-year-old final, when Pender and the Irish Sport Horse stallion HHS Flonix, bred by Brendan McSorley in Co Tyrone, came out on top, followed by Howley on HK Stakkata in second. Drain and Nadim van de Kruishorst placed fifth and Pender also finished ninth on board HHS Othello.

Howley’s run continued when he placed fourth in the Medium Tour 1.45m two-phase, this time riding Caprice d’Elle, while Sameh El Dahan (GBR) rode WKD Comme Je Peut (ISH), bred by Joanne Sloan Allen, into 10th.

There were two Irish in the top five of the Small Tour 1.40m speed class, when Tori Dunn placed third with BP Maestro and Drain finished fifth on Jamal EB, while Howley and Navita were seventh in the Big Tour 1.45m two-phase special.

The Small Tour 1.35m two-phase special class saw Chloe Hughes Kennedy ride Starouge into third place, followed by O’Reilly on Billy Santandiago in fourth and on Billy Hopper in seventh.

Shane Moloney rode Rosco Galways Glory into sixth place in the Medium Tour 1.35m two-phase special, followed by McHugh on Kannan Contessa in eighth.

The Small Tour 1.30m two-phase special saw another Irish one-two, with Charles O’Reilly Hyland taking the top spot with Penelope 31 and Niamh Devlin placing second with HHS Toronto. Meanwhile, McHugh and Cruising With Alice finished ninth in the Medium Tour 1.40m two-phase special. The one-star 1.20m two-phase special concluded the day, with Fenton on Heldin in third, Jenny McBride on Nadal in seventh and Devlin on HHS Ice Flo in eighth. Saturday’s Big Tour 1.35m speed class was won by Monaghan riding New Light, with McHugh on Cruising With Alice in fourth and Seamus Hughes Kennedy on HK Fury in ninth, while Chloe Hughes Kennedy on Starouge were seventh in the Medium Tour 1.40m speed class and O’Reilly on Lancer Luck were fifth in the Small Tour 1.45m two-phase special. The Small Tour 1.40m two-phase special was won by Drain on Kordon VDL, with Arielle Allen in ninth on Kandice Z. El Dahan (GBR) rode WKD Comme Je Peut (ISH) into sixth in the Small Tour 1.45m Grand Prix.

Meanwhile, the Small Tour 1.30m two-phase special saw Charles O’Reilly Hyland on Penelope 31 place fourth, followed by Gerard Campbell on Coldplay I in eighth. McHugh finished as runner-up in the Medium Tour 1.35m speed class on board Kannan Contessa, with Pender on HHS Venice in ninth. Sunday’s Small Tour 1.45m Grand Prix saw Kuehnle ride Seguela v/d Gravenhoeve into seventh place, Max O’Reilly Hyland on Rock Warrior were eighth and Brennan on Augustus Z were ninth. Seamus Hughes Kennedy and HK Fury placed sixth in the Medium Tour 1.40m two-phase special, while in the Small Tour 1.35m jump-off class, Drain and Dotan van het Gerendal Z were seventh and Campbell on Coldplay I were ninth. Charles O’Reilly Hyland and Penelope 31 were second in the Small Tour 1.30m Accumulator.

Pender and HHS Jackpot rounded out the show when sixth in the Medium Tour 1.30m two-phase special.