MIKEY Pender had a fantastic weekend in Valkenswaard, The Netherlands, winning three classes and finishing fifth in the four-star Grand Prix.

Pender’s four-star win came in Saturday’s 1.45m Table A when he guided Marion Hughes’ home-bred HHS Fast Forward to the fastest of five double clear rounds in 30.51 seconds to earn €6,375.

HHS Fast Forward is a nine-year-old gelding by Heritage Fortunas out of the Cavalier Royale-sired China Cavalier. The Netherlands’ Bart Bles was runner-up with Gin D.

On the same day, the horse was runner-up in the 1.50 to earn another €10,220, behind USA winner Jessica Springsteen and Hungry Heart.

Pender won back-to-back victories with HHS Fortune, a 10-year-old gelding by Catoki, also bred by Marion Hughes, out of HHS Daisy (Ard VDL Douglas). The won Friday’s 1.35m with over two seconds to spare ahead of second-placed Leandro José Abrahão Duarte Alecrim from Brazil with Disco (0/0 30.48).

Their second win came the following day in the 1.40m. The combination were the fastest of 18 clear rounds in 63.10 seconds, ahead of Dutchman Steven Veldhuis with Installera Balia RS (0/ 64.23).

Diarmuid Howley also picked up a win at the venue when he guided Clover VA to win Sunday’s two-star 1.35. The pair posted the winning time of 62.79 ahead of Veldhuis with Gezellig.

Grand Prix

Sunday’s four-star Grand Prix was won by Egypt’s Abdel Said who produced the fastest of four clear rounds in the 1.60m jump-off with Arpege du Ru. Their time of 34.59 seconds was just ahead of USA’s Laura Kraut with Confu in second (0/0 35.78).

Darragh Kenny slotted into fourth place with Great-Tikila J when they were the slowest of the clear, breaking the beams in 37.14 to pick up €10,000.

After four faults in the jump-off, Pender finished fifth with the 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding HHS Calais (Cavalier Royale x OBOS Quality), who was bred by the late Ita Brennan.

Rockwell RC

Darragh Kenny crowned an excellent week for the seven-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare Rockwell RC when winning Sunday’s six and seven-year-old final. The Kannan mare was bred by Ronan Byrne out of Urban Sea (Guidam).

The mare won the gold medal at the World Breeding Championships for Young Horse in Lanaken as a five-year-old under Jason Foley.

Owned by Sean Cubitt, she has since been ridden by Kim Emmen and Ciaran Nallon and it was Kenny’s first FEI appearance on board.