TYRONE’S Niamh McEvoy saved her best until last at the five-star Nations Cup show in St Gallen, Switzerland, when she rode the eight-year-old Irish Sport Horse stallion Boleybawn Alvaro (Dominator 2000 Z x Arina by Crown Z, bred by Ronan Rothwell), to win the 1.40m/1.45m Reitsport.ch Youngster Grand Prix on Sunday.

From 30 starters, 16 kept a clean sheet in round one to proceed to round two, where 10 repeated that success.

McEvoy stopped the second-round clock in 34.44 seconds to take the win, ahead of Brazil’s Eduardo Pereira de Menezes on Excellent Sunshine Z in 34.67. Switzerland’s Anthony Bourquard on Icone de Laume completed the podium in third in 36.55.

Top-10 placings

The Longines CSIO Nations Cup fixture at St Gallen ran from Wednesday until Sunday, where Thursday’s Under-25 1.40m Prize AP Invest speed class saw Kildare’s Leah Stack place seventh with the 13-year-old gelding Idocus, when clear in 74.38.

Meanwhile, the 1.50m Prize Suttero speed class saw a podium finish for Derry’s David Simpson, who placed third with his own 11-year-old stallion Pjotr van de Kruishoeve, when clear in 69.32. Ben Maher (GBR) won the class with Ginger-Blue in 68.70, with Aaron Vale (USA) and Gray’s Inn slotting into second place in 68.98. Of the 57 starters, 16 combinations jumped clear, with time being of the essence.

There was more success for Irish breeding, as Adrian Whiteway rode the 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding BP Baxter (Elvis Ter Putte x BP Hero by Pacino), bred by Greg Broderick, to a fourth-place finish in Thursday’s 1.45m Prize CSIO Club II two-phase competition.

Stack and Idocus scored another seventh-place finish in the Under-25 1.40m Prize Thommen Recycling speed class on Friday, when stopping the clock in 69.91.

Mark McAuley and L’Arc en Ciel Z placed ninth in the 1.50m Prize MS Direct Group jump-off class. Kevin Staut (FRA) came out best of the 61 starters riding Exquis RB.

Nations Cup

The 1.60m Range Rover Nations Cup of Switzerland on Friday afternoon saw 10 teams taking part. Irish Chef d’Equipe Jessica Kürten had named her squad as Tipperary’s Denis Lynch with Vistogrand, Tyrone’s Niamh McEvoy with the nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding BP Rocket Man (Stakkato Gold x BP Quidy by Quidam Junior I, bred by Austin Broderick), Louth’s Mark McAuley with Rossi VD Heffinck and Galway’s Michael Duffy with Mister Qerly Z, with Ireland drawn fifth to jump.

Following her team selection, Kürten said: “Taking on strong opposition in St Gallen this weekend, the team is a mix of great experience and up-and-coming talent. It will be exciting to see how these younger horses fare in their first team competition at this level.”

The first round saw Lynch and McEvoy keeping all the poles in their cups, but picking up two time penalties each. McAuley was next in and he collected eight faults, while Duffy suffered elimination, resulting in a first-round team total of 12, putting Ireland in seventh place at the halfway stage, with Belgium leading on four faults, followed by Great Britain close behind on six faults, with the USA in third on eight faults.

In round two, Lynch picked up four faults, while McEvoy incurred six. McAuley ended on five faults second time round, while Duffy returned to collect six faults. This gave the Irish team a second-round score of 15 to add to the 12 from round one for a total of 27, putting them in seventh place of the 10 teams.

Switzerland scored a home win on a score of nine, followed by Austria in second on 16 and Great Britain in third on 17.

On Saturday, McEvoy placed seventh in the Alpsteinzaun + Tor Youngster Cup 1.35m/1.40m speed class on board Boleybawn Alvaro, when they jumped clear in a time of 70.01.

Stack and Idocus finished as runners-up from 20 starters in the Under-25 1.45m MartyDesignHaus Grand Prix, when they jumped a first-class double clear in 41.80. Djuna Lauder (USA) rode Paladin 116 to win the seven-strong jump-off in 41.33.

The 1.50m Speed and Handiness by City and Canton of St Gallen class saw two Irish top-10 placings - McAuley finished eighth on L’Arc en Ciel Z and McEvoy rode Rock Warrior into 10th place.