CORK’S Shane Sweetnam came out on top in Toronto, Canada over the weekend, when he and the 10-year-old gelding Coriaan van Klapscheut Z won the five-star $500,000 Kubota 1.60m Grand Prix.

Saturday night’s lucrative class saw a start list of 30, but such was the difficulty of Olympic course designer Guilherme Jorge’s (BRA) course, that only three of them managed to keep all the poles in place to make it through to the jump-off. Sweetnam was in unbeatable form and completed the only double clear of the class to claim victory, along with the $106,732.50 top prize.

Kent Farrington (USA) on Descartes SR picked up $85,386 for second and Ilan Bluman (COL) on Acajou placed third to collect $64,039.50.

Down’s Conor Swail was unlucky to incur a single time penalty in round one with Casturano, which precluded them from the jump-off, but they took home $42,693 for fourth place. Nina Mallevaey (FRA) and the David Prentice-bred Irish Sport Horse My Clementine finished seventh.

Following his win, Sweetnam said of his mount: “This is only his second five-star Grand Prix and the last one he did was in Monterrey (MLSJ Finals), which he was also clear in.”

When asked about his jump-off strategy, world number five Sweetnam commented: “It’s something I’m always trying to figure out, as I finish second to Kent a lot.”

In the ribbons

Season six of Major League Show Jumping kicked off at Angelstone Events in Toronto, with three nights of five-star show jumping adding to the show schedule, which also included two-star classes. It was the first time for the venue to host the opening leg, the first opportunity for teams and riders to put points on the scoreboard.

The opening five-star $250,000 BFL qualifier on Thursday saw 31 combinations lining up to compete for a share of the generous prize fund. Jorge (BRA) built a challenging 1.55m track, which produced 12 clear rounds, who proceeded to the jump-off. The timed decider saw six jumping clear again, with the fastest round being recorded by world number two, Kent Farrington (USA) on the nine-year-old gelding Descartes SR in a time of 41.96. Daniel Bluman was runner-up with Corbie VV in 42.82, while Nina Mallevaey on My Clementine (ISH) completed the podium in third in 43.26.

Swail was best of the Irish, placing fourth with Casturano, clear in 44.23, while Derry’s Jordan Coyle was seventh on Ariso and Sweetnam was eighth on Coriaan van Klapscheut Z, each of whom picked up four faults second time out.

Friday’s two-star $42,000 Leon’s qualifier saw a start list of 33, 10 of whom jumped clear to book a place in the second round. Eight of these jumped clear again, including Swail on Nadal Hero & DB in seventh and David O’Brien on Eldokato PS in eighth. It was another win for Farrington, this time on Vixen.

The five-star $42,500 Sprucewood Tack speed class saw Derry’s Daniel Coyle finish on the podium in third riding VDL Mourinho. Mallevaey and My Clementine (ISH) placed 10th in the class.

Roadrunners success

The highlight of Friday evening was the five-star $325,000 MLSJ Cabana Coast Team competition, which saw eight teams battling it out for the prize fund and a spot on the leaderboard. Daniel Coyle was making his first appearance for the Desert Horse Park Roadrunners and it proved to be a successful one. Coyle was accompanied by Sweetnam on Pia Maria H and Erynn Ballard on Ashley de Talm.

The best four teams proceeded to round two, after which the first two sent out one rider each to decide first and second places, while the next two teams did the same for third and fourth.

Coyle and VDL Mourinho sped round the course for the Roadrunners in a winning time of 44.32, pipping Charlotte Jacobs on Rincoola Milsean (ISH), who was riding for the Trelawny Trailblazers and clocked 44.59 for second place. The Archers and Team KPF placed third and fourth respectively.

Afterwards, Coyle’s Roadrunner teammate, Sweetnam said: “Daniel knew what he had to do when he went in. He’s one of the fastest riders out there and planned it perfectly.”

Securing an Irish Grand Prix double, Swail and Nadal Hero & DB won Saturday’s two-star $42,000 Willow Equestrian Grand Prix from a start list of 31. Swail was among 13 to jump clear in round one, with six combinations completing double clear rounds. Swail’s jump-off time of 36.00 was more than two seconds ahead of runner-up Jay Hayes (CAN) on Quinet-K van’T Kattenheye (38.39).