THERE were mixed fortunes for Ireland at the Brussels Stephex Masters over the weekend, with some great individual results alongside a disappointing Nations Cup finish.
Among the notable individual performances was Sunday’s five-star 1.60m Rolex Grand Prix, which saw Trevor Breen riding Heather Black’s Highland President to place fifth from a start list of 49. The duo jumped double clear in a jump-off time of 49.92, while French rider Nina Mallevaey on Dynastie de Beaufour took first place in 40.75.
The show also saw wins at one-star level for Aisling Byrne and Zoe Keys and at three-star level for Michael Duffy.
Byrne victory
The Stephex Masters was held in Brussels in Belgium last week, with classes running from Wednesday until Sunday. Irish riders got the first day off to a pleasing start when Alice Wachman rode Atlantic du Seigneur into 10th place in the two-star 1.35m two-phase special and Keys placed fourth with Luana in the one-star 1.20m two-phase special.
Byrne and Celeste Spb Z took the top spot in Thursday’s one-star 1.15m two-phase special from a start list of 37, jumping double clear in a second phase time of 32.98 - more than a second ahead of her nearest challenger, Brazil’s Gilberto Sayao Da Silva on Chandon Blue (34.09).
Duffy and the 11-year-old stallion Dublin were the clear winners of the 54-strong three-star 1.40m speed class with a clear round in a super-fast time of 60.93. Runner-up Koen Vereecke (BEL) on Fiesta Van Paemel were more than three and a half seconds behind in 64.52.
Trevor Breen took a place on the podium in the five-star 1.45m two-phase special on board Konrad Obolensky, with their double clear round in a phase two time of 36.32 being good enough for third place in a class of 39 starters. The pair finished just over a second behind Belgian winner Jerome Guery on Great Britain V, who stopped the clock in 35.20.
Meanwhile, Byrne took another top 10 finish in the one-star 1.25m speed class when placing ninth with Cnoc Rua Chinook.
Horse Sport Ireland High Performance show jumping manager Michael Blake selected Bertram Allen with Pacino Amiro (ISH), Trevor Breen with Highland President, Max Wachman with Kilkenny (ISH) and Billy Twomey with Jumping Jack Van de Kalevallei as his team for Friday’s Nations Cup in Brussels. Unfortunately, three four fault rounds (one with a time fault) meant the day didn’t go Ireland’s way.
First in for Ireland was Allen, who finished on four faults; second to go Breen rode a super clear round; third in Wachman finished on five faults, while last to go Twomey incurred four faults. This gave the Irish team a first-round total of eight faults, which meant they were not among the top eight teams who proceeded to the second round. The win went to France on a final score of four faults, followed by Belgium in second place on nine and Switzerland in third (12).
Podium finish
Friday did see some positive Irish results though, as Cian O’Connor finished on the podium in the five-star 1.50m jump-off class riding Canbella Blue PS into third place in a jump-off time of 36.92 - within 0.6 seconds of Swiss winner Steve Guerdat on Lancelotta (36.33).
Breen and Konrad Obolensky had another top five finish in the five-star 1.45m speed class, when they placed fourth in a time of 63.87. The class was won by Martin Fuchs (SUI) on Love de Vie in 61.80.
Keys and Luana placed sixth in the one-star 1.20m speed class when clear in 64.85, while Conor Drain and Jamal EB placed 10th in the two-star 1.40m speed class.
Byrne and Cnoc Rua Chinook were joint winners of Saturday’s one-star 1.30m Grand Prix from 50 starters, jumping double clear in a jump-off time of 35.52 - exactly the same time as Younes Mohamed Yakoub Ferradj (ALG) on Ipanema Danfer.
Jenny Rankin on Big Beauty Z were among the clear rounds in the three-star 1.45m two-round class, while O’Connor rode Pegasus into ninth place in the young horse seven and eight-year-old 1.40m/1.45m jump-off class and Byrne and Celeste Spb Z placed fourth in the one-star 1.15m speed class. Breen and Konrad Obolensky took eighth place in the five-star 1.45m two-phase special.
Sunday’s 59-strong three-star 1.50m Grand Prix saw Rankin on Quatinka finishing sixth, followed by Duffy on Claptonn Mouche in seventh.
Keys rode Luana to win the one-star 1.20m two-phase special from a start list of 37, while the two-star 1.35m speed class saw Drain ride Luuk into 10th place.
Showing the consistency of the Irish contingent, in the best rider tables, Byrne came third at one-star level, Duffy placed seventh and Rankin ninth at three-star and Breen was seventh at five-star.