THE final leg of this year’s Young Eventhorse Series (YES!), which is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine under the National Breeding Services and delivered by Horse Sport Ireland, was hosted on Tuesday by the McGahern family at the now traditional series-ending venue of Rincoola, Co Longford.

The international ridden display judges engaged for the day were Britain’s Jennie Loriston-Clarke and Tom Rowland while John Micklem assessed the horses forward for suitability and potential over a jumping track judged by Trish Collins. Once again, Co Westmeath racehorse trainer Adrian Murray returned to his sport horse roots to assess the four and five-year-olds’ conformation and movement in hand.

Briefly, the visiting judges were impressed with “some nice quality horses that were well-produced”, the layout of the venue, the inviting fences and the standard of riding in the Junior/Young Rider event horse section.

In their third season competing in the Young Eventhorse Series, Co Kilkenny-based Welsh natives Andrew Williams and John Tilley landed the four-year-old league with the Irish Sport Horse mare Goldburgs Sister Act, who was one of three co-leaders going into the final leg, and the five-year-old league with the ISH gelding Borris Cornet Coole who had been lying second heading into Tuesday. Both completed on 28 points with two wins and one second-place finish apiece to their credit.

While this series didn’t start until June 3rd at Tullylish, the Kilkenny International horses, and most others at the top of both league tables, were out competing earlier in the season. Goldburgs Sister Act, who won at both Tullylish and Rincoola, started her season at Wexford Equestrian, finishing fourth in the four-year-old Stepping Stones league. She was a disappointing 12th of 26 in the Burghley young event horse qualifier at Millstreet.

That class at the international event was won by the ISH gelding Milchem Giovanni (Tyson - Milchem Dreamer, by Silvano) who finished second in the YES league on 18 points. The Jason Doerflinger-ridden, Ralph Conroy-owned and bred chesnut commenced his competitive career by winning the four-year-old league during the Starter Series run by the Western Region of Eventing Ireland in the spring.

A €7,500 graduate of last year’s Monart Sale, the Dignified van’t Zorgvliet mare Goldburgs Sister Act was bred in Co Wexford by Nick Cousins out of the point-to-point-winning Saddlers’ Hall mare Mrs Hall who comes from the family of the Grade 1-winning hurdler Refinement.

Education

The YES five-year-old winner Borris Cornet Coole, a member of the first crop of Castlefield Cornet, was the top-priced three-year-old at the 2023 September Sale in Goresbridge when sold for €20,000 to Andrew Williams. The bay, who was bred in Co Carlow by Joe and Jerry Skelton, is out of the Warrenstown You 2 mare Miss Too Coole whose previous produce include the Cobra mare MGH Jessica (CCI4*-S).

Last season, the John Tilley-ridden Borris Cornet Coole won the young event horse Discovery final at Millstreet, finished third at Dublin and won the Masters at Lisgarvan. Prior to appearing in Tuesday’s final round of the YES series where he won Section A of the five-year-old class, Borris Cornet Coole finished fourth in the Burghley young event horse qualifier at Millstreet and won Sunday’s EI100 (T) class at Frankfort Stud.

The Bridget Speirs-owned and bred ISH gelding BT Just Special (I’m Special de Muze - Chitter Chatter, by Robin Des Pres), who won both the Stepping Stones league and the Burghley young event horse qualifier in the hands of Diarmuid Ryan, led the YES league heading to Rincoola but lost out on the top spot when only fifth on Tuesday.

Delighted with their horses’ wins, Williams commented: “They have to be properly produced, not overproduced, but gone are the days when you could guide a horse around a dressage arena with its head stuck out. No one wants to see a horse with its head stuck into its chest but they can’t be produced like breakers.

“I think this series is an excellent education for a horse but I did think a couple of the courses were too strong. Ours coped with them fine but, in getting around these tracks, some horses qualified for Dublin that aren’t top quality.”

Speaking of their league winners, Williams added: “They are both very good. Boris was brilliant last year and we were delighted with his win at Frankfort Stud on Sunday. He is on a bit of a break now but will do the Discovery class at Millsteet and perhaps one more event before heading to Dublin. We’re really excited about the black mare, she moves and jumps and has near 75% thoroughbred blood.

“We have two other horses qualified for Dublin and more four-year-olds coming on who will do the Discovery class at Millstreet.”

Double

Co Wexford’s Ciara O’Connor, who finished third in the four-year-old league on J.J. Bowe’s ISH gelding Innisfree Chapo (Kannan - CSF Millie, by Camillo VDL), followed up her 2024 Junior/Young Rider event horse league win with Ashwood Iron Lady by landing this year’s title on that Iron Man de Padenborre’s half-brother, Ashwood Rio. Iron Lady went on to win at Dublin.

Ciara O'Connor and Ashwood Rio \ Bit-Media/Aisling Deverell

Bred by their owner, the rider’s aunt Sharon O’Connor, the siblings are out of the Ramiro B mare Pikeur. Ashwood Rio won the five-year-old Burghley qualifier at Millstreet last year. He has only once finished outside the top four in five Eventing Ireland starts this season, winning twice, and also won the CCI1*-Intro at Ballindenisk in April.

Second place in the league went to another Goresbridge Sales graduate, Greygrove Delight (Shannondale Sarco St Ghyvan - Great Delight, by Loughehoe Guy), a six-year-old ISH gelding ridden by Caitlin Woods for her father Michael. Both Ashwood Rio and Greygrove Delight won their classes at Rincoola on Tuesday.