THERE was such a large entry for the RC90 at last Sunday’s Equipeople AIRC national eventing championships in Killossery Lodge Stud that the class had to be divided with a co-efficient then applied to find the 2025 champion, Kate Fortune.

The Enniskerry member won Section A on her 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare Gilanalinde (31.4 penalties), ahead of Calliaghstown’s Gill Phipps riding the eight-year-old chesnut gelding Kildandan Emperor (33) with Denise Murphy placing third on SHL Point Taken (37.5), a nine-year-old bay daughter of Dilshaan. Murphy is a member of the Co Cork-based Earl’s Well club which was well-represented at Killossery.

Gilanalinde, who is by Van Gogh out of Shifralinde (by Dream Of Glory), was first produced on the British eventing and show jumping circuits by Eden Blake who campaigned the bay at CSI1* level at Oliva, Spain in October 2019 and again 12 months later. Fortune has been riding the mare in Showjumping Ireland Amateur competitions since the summer of 2022 (amassing 54 SJI points), while the combination also campaigned under Dressage Ireland rules between September 2022 and March 2024, earning 47 points.

The result was a lot closer in Section B where Gillian Cody and Sean Cleary, both representing Thomastown and District, completed on the same dressage score of 34.3. However, as she finished marginally closer to the optimum cross-country time, Cody claimed the honours on Lisbrien Boy while Cleary had to settle for second with his traditionally-bred ISH gelding Shanbo Outlaw, a seven-year-old son of Carrick Diamond Lad out of a Master Imp mare.

Lisbrien Boy, who was bred in Co Tipperary by Tom Ryan, is a 13-year-old grey gelding by Crannagh Hero out of the Regal Sting mare Julies Regal Sting whose other four progeny listed on the Irish Horse Register are by the same Irish Draught stallion. While horse and rider have competed under SJI rules on a couple of occasions this year, they mainly stick to Riding Club company.

When the two sections were merged together, Fortune was crowned champion with Gilanalinde while Cody had to settle for the reserve slot with Lisbrien Boy.