AFTER a winter spent competing on the international circuit, Michael Pender had his competitive edge honed razor sharp, returning to the national circuit to claim the ninth leg of the Connolly’s Red Mills Spring Tour.

Riding HHS Sevenhouses, Pender came out in front in a 16-horse decider to secure Sunday’s €2,500 feature class at the Cavan Spring Championships. The third combination to take on the Stuart Clarke-designed shortened and raised course, Pender set a standard that couldn’t be bettered when leaving all the poles up in 40.11 seconds.

Of winning on Sunday, Pender said: “I’m very happy with the result, I’ve only been home two weeks and he jumped great. I think he’s going to be a very good horse with a bright future.”

Pender, who has been away jumping - and winning - in the United Arab Emirates with Kilkenny international show jumper Marion Hughes, said: “It was fantastic to be away, I got jumping good classes against some of the best riders in the world which was really good experience.”

Bred by Marion Hughes, the seven-year-old HHS Sevenhouses is by Heritage Fortunas out of the Ard VDL Douglas-sired dam HHS Daisy. Exceptionally well related, HHS Daisy is a half-sister to Heritage HHS Fortuna, Hughes international mount, and to HHS Figero, successful up to 1.60m with Britain’s Emma O’Dwyer.

Hughes said: “HHS Sevenhouses is very well bred, he was actually an embryo foal. He has always been a nice horse and I think he is one with a good future in front of him. He has a nice easy mind and he’s very careful. We have taken him quite slowly and I wasn’t expecting the win, I would have been quite happy for him to jump double clear but Mikey (Pender) is so talented and it was such a smooth round - it didn’t upset the horse at all to go against the clock. I think he will learn from it and I was really happy with how he jumped. We will probably aim HHS Sevenhouses at Dublin now and maybe the World Breeding Championships at Lanaken if it fits into our schedule.”

Speaking on Pender, Hughes continued: “Mikey is such a talented rider. He has a very good natural way with the young horses – he makes it easy for them, they really enjoy the sport with him but he’s still competitive which is great. He is a real horseman and I really do think that he is one of the most talented riders of his age in the world at the minute.”

A 17-year-old, Pender has been based with Hughes’ Kilkenny operation since the beginning of 2016 and in this time has notched up an impressive list of achievements. To list only a few, Pender finished second and third in the Five-Year-Old Final at the World Breeding Championships in Lanaken as well as winning the Six-Year-Old Consolation at the same venue.

His Dublin Horse Show results were just as impressive; winning the Five-Year-Old Championship, taking the runner-up position in the Six-Year-Old Championship and taking third place in the international Seven and Eight-Year-Old class as well as featuring in the young rider divisions.

Part of the Irish Junior team at the Europeans held in Millstreet, Pender finished best of the Irish individually when seventh with Sheikh It and has spent the beginning of this season in the Middle East gaining more international experience.

COMPETITIVE ACTION

John Floody has proven on form lately as the winner of the preceding two rounds of the Spring Tour and put more points on the board last Sunday when securing the runner-up position. Partnered on this occasion with Brian Kieran’s 10-year-old Rhyne Clover-sired stallion HTS Blackrock, Floody had set the time to beat at 40.31 which proved fractionally too slow to secure a third win on the day.

Floody had made it double-handed to the jump-off and also finished eighth with Bronson de Reve. Floody and the 11-year-old Hermes de Reve gelding were the winners at Broadmeadows while Ballyknock Diamond had secured the previous weeks round at Killossery Lodge Stud.

The top three placings were secured early in the clocked round and Australian young rider Jake Hunter, based out of Vinny Duffy’s Co. Mayo yard, proved next fastest on the day. Hunter, riding the 12-year-old Lux Z-sired Robinstown Lux Lovely stopped the clock at 41.58.

Jonathan Andrews took the green rosette with his own the Hurricane. Putting in a solid double clear, Andrews recorded 43.86.

Tholm Keane and the eight-year-old Luidam-sired BMH Big Time were the only other combination on the day to keep a clean sheet. Keane had played pathfinder in the clocked round, aiming for a steady clear which he duly delivered in a time of 50.29.

Kenneth Graham completed the top six as the fastest of the four-faulters with George, across the line in 38.81. Still holding firm at the top of the leader board, Sven Hadley added another couple of points to his tally when taking seventh place with Sumas Taloubet.

The Spring Tour will have another double bill of jumping this weekend with concurrent rounds running tomorrow in Maryville and Kernans.