NUMEROUS Irish competitors attended the three-star Southern Arches show, held on the second week of the Winter Equestrian Festival at Wellington International in Florida (January 13th to 18th). The best result came from Clare’s Philip McGuane, who finished as runner-up in Sunday’s three-star $140,000 Southern Arches Grand Prix.

McGuane rode the 11-year-old mare Paso Doble SCF to a double clear round in 45.13 seconds, only being beaten by Peter Lutz (USA) on Katriona, who stopped the clock in 43.69 to claim the $42,000 first prize. McGuane pocketed $28,000 for second place. Alexandra Worthington (USA) on De L’Oiseliere placed third in 45.68 for a $21,000 prize. There were 33 starters in the class, with just nine of them jumping clear within the time allowed in round one to book a place in the jump-off; six combinations remained fault-free after two rounds.

In the ribbons

McGuane and Donvier got their show underway when placing seventh in the $6,150 1.40m Open class on Friday.

Saturday’s $5,000 Brainjuice Under 25 Welcome class saw a runner-up finish for Tom Wachman and Pegasus, when they jumped clear in a time of 73.72, while Daniel Kerins and Diacette placed sixth in 78.91 from a start list of 56.

Wexford’s Bertram Allen rode the 12-year-old mare Zero K (Kannan x Robin Z) into second place in the $32,000 Hermes 1.50m Classic on Saturday, when jumping double clear in 39.43. The winner, Luis Fernando Larrazabal (VEN) on Ribery finished less than a second ahead in 38.65. Britain’s Ben Maher completed the podium with Ginger-Blue in third (40.11), while O’Connor and Ulysses placed fifth (41.07).

Kerins and Diacette went on to record a top-10 finish in Sunday’s 43-strong $31,020 Brainjuice Under 25 Grand Prix, when they picked up four faults in the jump-off to finish ninth.

Abu Dhabi

Meanwhile, the two-star show at Al Forsan Sports Resort, Abu Dhabi, saw some Irish top-10 placings. The 48-strong two-star 1.40m Grand Prix qualifier saw three Irish combinations in the top 10, with Trevor Breen on Konrad Obolensky in eighth place, followed by David Simpson, who placed ninth with Billy Fern and 10th with Punch D’Anvers, while Shane Breen rode Chaccoulando WCT into eighth place in the 1.30m two-phase class of 44.