DERRY’s David Simpson finished the three-star Dodson & Horrell Bolesworth International Horse Show on a high last Sunday when winning the 1.50m Grand Prix and taking the lion’s share of the £50,000 prize fund with his top mount Foudre F when producing the only double-clear round of the competition.

There were four Irish in the top eight of the class, while Daniel Coyle was on the podium in third place with Oak Grove’s Carlyle.

Some 48 started in the class and it was Tokyo-bound British rider Holly Smith who produced the first clear of the competition with Fruselli. Only Simpson was able to match Smith’s clear round and they were joined by 10 more combinations in the jump-off. Nine combinations retired in the first round while one was eliminated.

The two riders on just one time penalty from the first round – William Whitaker (Galtur) and Daniel Coyle with Oak Grove’s Carlyle – put the pressure on with a faultless second round in a quick time, with William lying in the top spot.

Smith was the first of the clears to take on the shortened course, as the crowds held their breath in anticipation, before the combination was caught out on a turnback to an imposing upright.

That meant a clear round would clinch victory for David Simpson and he delivered just that in a time of 42.22 seconds with his 11-year-old Namelus R gelding to earn just over £19,000. It is the combination’s second Grand Prix win of the year having won the CSIO3* in Prague back in May.

Whitaker took the runner-up place finishing on a total one time fault from the first round and a jump-off time of 39.40, ahead of Coyle, also on one time fault, in 40.60 seconds. Eoin Gallagher slotted into fifth place with Faltic HB (4/0 37.10), just one place ahead of Anthony Condon with Zira vh Kapelhof (5/0 37.74). Michael Duffy placed eighth with Jeff Ten Halven (4/4 36.50).

Forward planning

Speaking afterwards, Simpson said: “I thought the course builder Louis Konickx did a great job, the time allowed was tight, but being a Grand Prix, it should be tough. I just went over the course; I knew Holly was the only one I was focused on that I had to beat. I just stuck to my plan, and it paid off.

“Foudre F was Shane Breen’s horse. I rode him in a couple of classes in Dubai, and we hit it off straight away. After two months riding him in Dubai, we came back and I had to buy him, I had a feeling he was a really special horse. It took about a year to get him to this level of consistency but he’s an incredible horse. He gets a bit tense around the ring but has a great brain. I’ve never ridden something that is so consistently careful and tries so hard, I can’t speak highly enough of him.”

Bolesworth welcomed back a maximum of 4,000 spectators to the venue last weekend and Simpson said it made a difference. “It’s incredible to have spectators back at sport. When I’m on my course, I’m completely focussed, but when you hit the ground after the last fence and you hear the crowd, there’s nothing quite like it,” the winner added.

Coyle recently took over the ride on the 13-year-old Casall-sired Oak Grove’s Carlyle from his mentor Jeroen Dubbeldam. “Everyone wants to win, but this is our third show together and one of the biggest, so I am really pleased with the result,” Coyle said afterwards.

Placed

Anthony Condon finished second in Saturday’s 1.40m with the experienced Nations Cup performer SFS Aristio, owned by the Hales family. The 15-year-old stallion was double clear in 34.17 seconds to finish runner-up to Britain’s Georgia Tame with the Marion Hughes-bred Irish Sport Horse mare Z Seven Caretina (Coltaire Z) in 33.09.

Malahide, Co Dublin-based Jenny Rankin picked up a similar placing in Thursday’s three-star 1.35m when guiding Flower into second place. The 16-year-old Bon Ami mare, owned by Vanessa Mannix and Conor Swail, was previously ridden by Swail. Rankin posted a time of 27.43, ahead of Michael Duffy in third with The Black Flyer (0/0 27.57). Victory went to Britain’s Mark Edwards.

Nina Barbour, Managing Director of Bolesworth, said: “It’s been a phenomenal five days of top sport, and it’s been even more special being able to welcome back spectators to Bolesworth. David Simpson’s win in the Grand Prix was absolute class and so exciting for us to all enjoy.”