TWO Irish riders finished in the top three of the three-star 1.50m Grand Prix at Vejer De La Frontera in Spain on Sunday, while Tipperary pony rider Tom Wachman scored a three-star victory at the Spanish venue.

Wachman guided Coolmore Showjumping’s Cesha OLD to victory in Thursday’s 1,30m Table A with the fastest of 22 clear rounds in 57.13 seconds, ahead of USA’s Julie Welles and Charming Fellow (0/ 57.56).

Cork’s Billy Twomey was agonisingly close to securing the top prize in Sunday’s Grand Prix, only to be beaten by eight hundredths of a second with the 12-year-old stallion Chat Botte E.D, who is owned by the rider and Sue Davis.

Second clear

Twelve of the starting 42 made it through to the jump-off in the feature class, where six produced a second clear round. Twomey secured €10,840 for second place, ahead of Waterford’s Anthony Condon and Pat Hales’ 10-year-old gelding SFS Vincomte. Their time of 39.72 seconds earned them €8,130. Victory went to Uruguay’s Marcelo Chirico Ferreira and QH Baloudarc LF in 39.21 seconds.

Earlier at the show, Condon and SFS Aristio took third in the 1.45m when clear in 62.68, ahead of Mikey Pender and the Judy Murphy-bred Irish Sport Horse HHS Javas Gucci (Luidam x Cruising), who also maintained a clean sheet in 62.89.

On the same day, Pender and the Irish-bred HHS Catwalk (Cit Cat x Clover Echo), bred by Thomas A Hughes, took the runner-up spot in the 1.40m Table A when they delivered a clear in 66.73, just fractions off the winner, USA’s Laura Kraut and Greatfull, who clocked 66.20.