ON entering the showgrounds in Hagen, Germany, there is a sign that reads ‘Somewhere on these showgrounds is a little child that wants to be just like you some day. You owe it to them to be the best sportsperson you can be’. ‘Horses and Dreams’ is the name of the venue for the Future Champions leg of the FEI Jumping Nations Cup Youth Series and the ethos in Hagen is all about celebrating the love of the sport and the relationship between the youth and their equine partners.

With dressage in one arena, there was only one jumping arena in operation, so numbers were tighter and there were fewer classes available to competitors than at some of the other shows in the series.

The opening class for CSIOP ponies was bright and early on Thursday morning and it was business as usual for Sam Widger and Little Smithe, who won the 1.25m, where Lily Tunney and Correlli Clover also picked up eighth place.

The qualifying class for the CSIOCh 1.25m two-phase was first thing on Friday and Ryan Horgan picked up fourth place on his recently acquired mare Ajacciene.

The CSIOP 1.25m two-phase on Friday was a very fast class with Sam Widger and Little Smithe once again at the sharp end of proceedings, this time picking up second place, while Ruben Foley and Griffonor Dream Dei finished sixth.

Gold for juniors

The first of the Nations Cup classes was on Friday and it was the turn of the Juniors. There were just six teams in the class, the smallest field of any of the shows that Ireland has attended. The stifling heat made for difficult conditions, particularly for the Irish who are not accustomed to it, however it didn’t seem to affect their performance as they picked up another team gold medal, their second of the series to add to the gold from Compiegne, silver from Sentower and bronze from Zuidwolde, making it four podiums from four starts for the Irish Juniors.

Jack Kent was first to go for the Irish and a foot in the water plus time left him with a total of nine faults with the big jumping Indiana Jones. This combination added just a single pole in the second round. Alice Wachman and Killarney followed on from a strong showing in Zuidwolde when jumping one of six double clears in the class.

Also jumping double clear was Annie Boland with Calisto Blanc, making an impressive team debut at this level. Tabitha Kyle was also jumping for Ireland for the first time after switching from Britain. She jumped a classy clear first round with BP Goodfellas but lowered two poles in the second round.

However, this result was academic and Ireland finished on a two-round total of four faults, ahead of Germany in silver and Belgium in bronze, both teams finishing on a team total of five faults, highlighting the cost of a single time fault, which kept both teams out of the jump-off for gold, leaving Ireland clear winners.

In the individual ‘in between class’, Abbie Oakey was the best of the Irish in sixth place with Moningo – D Van’t Heyveld.

Pony team on a roll

Saturday morning started off well for the Irish, when the U16 pony squad took the gold for the third time in four outings in the CSIOP Ponies Nations Cup against five other teams. The Irish pony riders are traditionally very strong, thanks to the pony culture in Ireland and the SJI pony system that most top Irish riders graduate from.

Sam Widger with Western Ranger and Charlie Flynn with Montana both jumped double clear, two of six double clears in the competition. Ruben Foley and Cracher lowered one pole in the first round, but jumped clear in the second round, while Lily Tunney and Fireman jumped a clear first round in their role as anchor, but didn’t need to jump the second round as the finishing two-round score of zero could not be improved upon, leaving them ahead of Britain in second and Germany in third.

Just as the ponies are traditionally strong in Ireland, the COH as a class has struggled to gain momentum at home as most U14 riders opt to jump ponies, but an improving team in Hagen picked up bronze in an exciting three-way jump-off from the six teams who started. Honor Bills-Everett with Godiva Quality and Lucia Keane with Elia jumped two of six double clear rounds in the class, while Elsie Tunney and Flexible Flight lowered one pole in the first round, but jumped clear in the second. Georgia de Bromhead took a fall in the first round from her horse Cassido, but came back admirably in the jump-off to deliver a crucial four-fault round. Lucia Keane, meanwhile, jumped the fastest clear in the jump-off, continuing from her consistent form all season.

Team chef d’equipe Denis Flannelly was in jubilant form after the Junior and Ponies team golds and the Children’s team being in contention for gold in the jump-off. “It was my personal goal to develop as many partnerships as possible through these shows,” he said afterwards, adding: “We have widened the athlete base and seen partnerships grow in confidence through the process, while remaining competitive at the highest level.

“I am delighted with some solid performances, but more importantly, I am proud of all of the athletes who went out and did their best. There is no better way to prepare for the European Championships, which is the ultimate Nations Cup, than through the FEI Jumping Nations Cup Youth Series. I’ve been very encouraged by what I’ve seen from Team Ireland this season.”

Day to remember

The Juniors Grand Prix saw a competition that once again highlighted the importance of being able to ride to a tight time allowed, where 27 of the 49 finishers fell afoul of the clock, and many of those who had poles were pressured into doing so by the time.

Ireland delivered two of the eight clears, with Lauren Adams riding Caddie Z and Annie Boland with Calisto Blanc both beating the course and the clock, but both riders elected not to jump-off and finished equal sixth.

Sunday was a day to remember for the Tunney family from Co Fermanagh, with both Elsie and Lily picking up placings in their respective Grand Prix classes, supported by their parents Madeleine and Gabriel, who is a well-known rider and trainer in his own right.

First up was Elsie in the Children’s Grand Prix, which was jumped in a torrential downpour, making a sharp change from the oppressive heat of previous days. Elsie and Flexible Flight were the only Irish combination to make it through to a 16-way jump-off where she eventually finished fourth.

Lily, meanwhile, was back in the Pony Grand Prix with her trusty companion Fireman who was going for three wins in a row.

Twenty of the 36 starters progressed to the jump-off, ensuring a very fast class and, sadly, it wasn’t to be win number three for Lily as the combination ended up on the wrong side of the decimal points, just 0.28 of a second off the winners, which left them in fourth.

“We were delighted with the girls’ achievements in their Nations Cups,” said Gabriel afterwards, “but the icing on the cake was for both of them to be placed in their respective Grand Prix. We are proud beyond words.”