CORK’S Billy Twomey secured a runner-up finish with Ace of Hearts Z in the four-star Big Tour 1.50m Ranking class at the four-star show at Le Lames Horses Sporting Club, Montefalco in Italy on Friday.
There were 68 starters in the jump-off class, with 14 of them jumping clear in the first round to proceed to the decider, where six completed double clear. Twomey stopped the clock in 39.78, exactly one second behind the winner, Kristen Vanderveen (USA) on Bull Run’s Jireh (38.78). Shane Breen placed 10th in the class with Scarteen.
In the ribbons
Twomey and Be Revenna placed sixth in the Young Horse seven-year-old 1.30m two-phase special on Thursday.
Friday’s four-star 1.35m two-phase class saw Trevor Breen on Drewmain Meira finish fourth, with Twomey placing 10th with Corrindubh Brother In Arms. Shane Breen placed fifth in the one-star 1.30m speed class on board Christina 16, with Derry’s David Simpson on Foudre F placing 10th in the class. Antrim’s Joanne Sloan Allen rode Heutric Van Beek into second place in the day’s one-star 1.10m speed class.
On Saturday, Simpson and Billy Fern were fourth in the four-star Big Tour 1.45m Ranking class, when they jumped clear in 67.6 seconds in the speed class. The win went to Ramzy Al Duhami (KSA) on Addressee, whose time of 66.04 was unbeatable.
Meanwhile, Twomey was back on the podium in third with Be Revenna in the Young Horse seven-year-old jump-off class and Sloan-Allen placed sixth with Heutric Van Beek in the one-star 1.15m two-phase special.
Simpson and Foudre F placed third in the day’s one-star 1.30m two-phase class, while Trevor Breen and Kannoon Blue placed eighth in the four-star Medium Tour 1.45m two-phase final.
Two-star shows
Elsewhere in Europe, the two-star fixture at Arouca in Portugal saw Molly Hughes Bravo, who is based in Kilkenny and the daughter of Marion Hughes and Portuguese rider Miguel Bravo, score a double.
The 23-year-old rider represents Portugal and rode HHS Mercedes (Can Ya Makan x Chester Lass by Couletto), a nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare bred by Bravo Hughes Ltd, to win Friday’s two-star 1.45m speed class, when jumping clear in a time of 68.54.
Bravo and her mount then went on to win the concluding two-star 1.45m Grand Prix on Sunday, recording one of seven double clears in the class in a jump-off time of 36.94. Michael Pender was also among the double clears and placed fifth with HHS Flonix (39.36).
Over at the two-star show at Sentower Park in Opglabbeek in Belgium, Cork’s Abbie Sweetnam also recorded Grand Prix success, when riding the 11-year-old stallion Kiritan to a double clear round in 42.24 to take a clear win, with nearest challenger Gilles Thomas (BEL) on Riesling Van T Roosakker over two seconds behind in 44.29.