ROBERT HARRISON enjoyed the perfect end to a productive year when he won the final 1.40m round of the TopSpec Autumn Grand Prix at Cavan Equestrian Centre last Sunday.

The win also earned him valuable league points and cemented his place at the top of the league leader board.

A thrilled Harrison said: “I’m delighted with the win. Landlystes Rubina (Heartbeat – Quantum) has been in great form recently so I was quite confident going in that she’d do well.

“I had planned to finish up in November, but when we were at the top of the leader board and she felt so good I decide to go on to the final, and I’m very glad I did.

“I’ve had her since the end of her five-year-old year; myself and my Dad were at the Danish Christmas Show and we saw her jump over a couple of days and liked her so much that we knew that we couldn’t come home without her.

“I thought the track on Sunday was tough enough. I was second to go in the jump-off on my first horse Klanhugh Dreamland (Luidam – Kiltealy Spring) and she went really well, she made a little mistake at the first fence but she is only eight years old so I was delighted with how she performed.

“I’ll give the horses a little bit of a break now and into the new year. While they are on a break, I plan to go over to Florida to help Tommy Harte from Brass Ring Farm out with a bit of coaching of American hunter, jumper and equitation riders.

“When I get back I’ll do Millstreet and then going forward I’d like to concentrate on the New Heights Series in the summer,” said Harrison.

A total of 36 riders lined out for the final round of the league. Just nine produced a first round clear to progress to the timed decider.

Eddie Moloney was first to go riding TSI Equestrian’s eight-year-old mare Cruicerath Flexianna (Flex A Bill – Pannamarenca). They left all the fences intact in a time of 41.98 to claim eventual second place.

Harrisson and Klanshugh Dreamland had the first fence down which left them on a score of four faults.

Daryl Walker was next with Sandra Duffy’s 10-year-old Belgian-bred mare Caliva Charca MMZ (Calido I – Bon Ami). They produced an extravagant clear round but in a slower time of 48.69 for eventual fourth place.

Fourth to go, Edward Doyle and Billy Guilder were going well until the fourth fence the Coke-a-Cola vertical which they had down for four faults in 46.13.

Annaghmore Small Hero, ridden by Harriet Copper, faulted at the second fence a vertical to see their hopes of a win dashed. While the next pair in, Emily Turkington and Jay Gatsby, had an uncharacteristic first fence down to put them out of the running.

Paul Carberry and Brandonview First Edition began at a good pace but a fault at the fourth fence saw them break the beam in 43.36 and finish in fifth place as the fastest four-faulter.

The penultimate pair in, Philip Gaw and Ardnacashel Coovella, produced a clear round in 43.42 which slotted them into third place.

As league leader following previous TopSpec Autumn league victories in Portmore and Cavan, as well as additional top-10 placings in Kernans, Cavan and Portmore; Harrison was last to go.

A fault-free round in a time of 41.75 saw the pair snatch the win from Moloney’s grasp after he had held it since his round as first to go.

With points and a half on offer, this added 18 points to Harrison’s tally and saw him finish on a total of 52.

The runner-up spot went to Philip Gaw and Ardnacashel Coovelle on 40 points, while Paul Carberry and Brandonview First Edition were third on 28.

The 1.35m round of the league was held last Saturday and 53 combinations lined out. An even dozen kept a clean sheet in round one to progress to the jump-off.

First to go was Tholm Keane riding Diarmuid Hurley’s ever consistent 10-year-old mare Future Storm (Future Trend – Cruising). The pair set the pace with a clear round in a time of 40.10. Remarkably they held the top-spot as the remaining 11 combinations made their attempts and took the victory.

Second to go was Peter Smyth riding the aptly-named Shenanigans, an 11-year-old Heartbreaker gelding. A refusal at fence two was followed by several further disobediences and the pair finished with a double-figure fault score.

John Floody, riding Donevan Erkindale, had fence five down for four faults in 40.21. Daryl Walker and Caliva Charca MMZ then produced the second clear round in 44.10.

Gerard Clarke riding Honfleur joined Floody on a four-fault score in a slower time of 53.58.

Jamie Landers and Valtor De Blagny faulted at fences five and six to finish on a score of eight in 42.03. Eddie Moloney and his second mount Rocky Bond also had fence six, a vertical, down for four faults in a time of 42.88.

Paddy O’Donnell riding Swingtime recorded a decent time in 41.07 but with an error at fence five added their name to the four-fault column.

The ninth pair in, Maura Counihan and Killerisk Minnie, had three fences down for 12 faults in 43.89.

Mr Big Cash, ridden by Cian Henderson, had a refusal at the fifth fence and the final fence down to finish on eight faults, the same score as the final rider in Ellie Humphries and Sumas Duiske.

Sandwiched between Henderson and Humphries was Jamie Landers and his second mount Castleforbes Violette, they were clear until the final fence which they had down to finish on four in 44.30 for sixth place.

That completes the 18-round TopSpec Autumn Grand Prix league which featured a dozen 1.35m rounds and six 1.40m rounds which took place in eight different venues.