GALWAY rider Sven Hadley kicked off his national campaign in style last Sunday when he dominated with a hat-trick of wins at the opening round of the Connolly’s Red Mills, Showjumpers Club Spring Tour at JAG Equestrian.

Riding Sumas Taloubet, Hadley took home the winner’s share of the €2,000 in the host-sponsored class. Sumas Taloubet is a 12-year-old by Taloubet Vdl out of Pride of Shaunlara. The gelding has been a resident with Hadley Sport Horses since last summer and has been successful up to Grand Prix level at home and abroad. Under Hanley’s command, he delivered an excellent performance at Kronenberg CSI** last month when taking the win in the the 1.40m accumulator.

Fresh from a successful tour of duty on the European circuit, it was a well worthwhile journey from Galway for Hadley as he also won the earlier 1.10m with Nicolas Canavan’s Clover Falcon and also won the 1.20m aboard Why Not Fado.

Hadley said: “I was pleased with how all the horses jumped today, in particular Clover Flacon who showed a lot of scope. Although the track wasn’t too big, it was a very competitive class. I had a close eye on Liam O’Meara as he is always one to watch in the jump-off. Hopefully I will do more rounds of the tour but it’s hard to say how many at this early stage of the season.”

International course designer Tom Holden set the challenge for the 48 starters and with the course proving fair, 12 proceeded to the timed round. The competition was intense with only fractions of a second dividing the top three finishers. In the jump-off, time could be made up in the turn back to the double and then back to an oxer. For those with a win in mind, a tight line from the penultimate vertical to the oxer was a necessary manoeuvre.

Also making the long trip from Galway and setting the pace early in the class, Joseph O’Brien took his place in the line-up when he delivered a clear early in the jump-off aboard CV Santandu, in a time of 36.97 seconds for sixth.

Double-handed in the jump-off, Hadley’s first attempt to take the lead came aboard Quanbell. Despite a good start, a safe clear in 38.45 saw the pairing account for seventh place.

Damien Griffin used his late draw to his advantage and shaved fractions off the target when he delivered a clear with Tabby in 35.57, which saw him provisionally take the lead and then eventual second.

As expected, the reigning champion Liam O’Meara had the win in mind and riding Kenny’s Flight, he put in a strong challenge when clocking 36.65 seconds, which saw him temporarily slot into second place and later fifth.

SPEED MERCHANT

Returning for the second time, speed merchant against the clock, Sven Hadley took off in a blistering pace with Sumas Taloubet and a series of good turns from the off saw him up on clock at the midway point. A daring turn from the penultimate vertical to the last oxer saw him clock the winning time of 35.19 seconds.

Next in, Jennifer Kuehnle put in a strategic round with the stallion Ballistic and a clear in 35.67 saw her take third in the line-up. The placing meant that she also took the prize of leading young rider of the round. Jennifer (15) is no stranger to this type of pressure having won numerous events at home and abroad, which includes a gold medal in Children on Horses. She plans to use the Spring Tour as a stepping stone onto the national Grand Prix circuit this year. Ballistic M2S is owned by Morningside Stud. He is an 11-year-old stallion by Ekstein and out of Concordia m2s (Condios x Cor de la Bryere).

Winner of the opening round last year, Liam O’Meara had another chance of victory. Returning with the experienced Curraghgraigue Jack Take Flight, he delivered another clear, but this time in 36.27 meant that he finished just behind Kuehnle in the final line-up.

Vickie Anderson opted for a safe clear with Zack and it paid dividends as she crossed with all the poles in place. Her time of 46.17 seconds however saw her add two time penalties to her score which meant that she had to settle for eighth place. The Co Laois rider also took home the prize of a Botanica Hamper as leading Pro Am rider of the round.