THE Connolly’s Red Mills CCI4*-S was a hotly contested class at last weekend’s Millstreet International Horse Trials and it was the Australian Kevin McNab who took the win with Faro Imp. The nine-year-old, bred by Martin Gronert, is by F-One and out of Carnival Imp, appears to like the Irish soil as this combination won the Eventing Ireland Coral Cove CCIYH2*-S for six-year-olds back in 2022.

They posted a score of 28.8 in the dressage arena and couldn’t be caught, adding just 3.6 time penalties to it, they were the quickest around Mike Etherington-Smith’s cross-country course. “Faro Imp has a real natural motor and travelled very well,” said McNab. “There aren’t many better cross-country tracks in the world and that’s why we keep coming back.”

Patrick Whelan and the ISH Altitu found themselves on yet another podium at 4* level when taking second place behind McNab resulting in them being crowned Connolly’s Red Mills EI120 National Champions for 2025. Whelan was sent the Orestus (KWPN) gelding as a five-year-old to go eventing and they’ve built quite the partnership since.

“His owner and breeder Seamus Carew sent him to me to do a few events, I actually fell off him at the first cross-country fence at his first event so we’ve come quite a way since!” Whelan said.

“The idea was to sell him but I knew very quickly that he was talented so I suggested aiming him for Le Lion d’Angers as a six-year-old. After that, Seamus wanted to go back there the following year and then we aimed him for Blenheim eight and nine-year-olds.”

The 10-year-old-gelding out of Happy Choice (SWB), has been lightly campaigned this season to date but Whelan has big aims for the rest of the year.

“He’ll go to Luhmuhlen 4*-S next week but the aim is the Europeans later in the summer, if not possibly a 5* in the Autumn,” he said.

Rounding out the podium was Irish-based British rider Daniel Alderson and the 10-year-old mare Islandview Quality Control for owner Oliver Steele, who was crowned reserve National Champion.