Tara Dunne
THE Army Equitation School ran successful manoeuvres at Balmoral Park with Captain Michael Kelly emerging triumphant in the fifth round of the TRM/Horseware Premier Series with Ringwood Glen.
Kelly won both the National and Premier Series Grand Prix last year and yet again held on to the Stephen Logan Memorial Trophy in a tough class which yielded no double clear rounds.
Kelly said: “I’m absolutely delighted. I really didn’t expect it as I had one down in the first round. Ringwood Glen had been off with a bad stone bruise and missed two months but he has been jumping great since he came back.”
Kelly picked up some good results overseas recently with the 11-year-old Arkansas-sired gelding including a top three finish in the Vichy Grand Prix at the three-star show last week. With confirmation of his selection for the international classes at the Dublin Horse Show with two horses, Kelly said: “Ringwood Glen will be aimed at the Grand Prix in Dublin and I would then hope for selection for some teams later in the year.”
Frank Glynn set the challenge for the starting 35 in Wednesday’s €10,000 curtain closing class at the National Balmoral Championships, sponsored by the Logan and McCalmont families. Captain Geoff Curran and Ger O’Neill supplied fault free rounds but the 1.50m course required precision and only John McLaughlin joined these two on a zero score while Catherine Thornton carried a single time penalty. With the top 25% returning for the clocked round, the remaining six places in the jump-off were filled by the fastest of the four faulters.
In driving rain, Barry McCormack was the first to take on the shortened, raised course with his own Heartbreaker-sired Armani Velvet, only to be unfortunately eliminated at the third obstacle.
Dean Rogan fared better with Falco Van Spieveld but added to their score of four when lowering the penultimate obstacle.
Despite the fastest time of the day, 37.85 seconds, his aggregate score of eight faults would only hold for eventual sixth place.
CHALLENGE
Alexander Butler, carrying just a single fence down from round one, negotiated the course without error. Logging a fast round that saw the clock stop at 38.38 aboard Hallowberry Cruz, Butler remained on four faults.
The Cruising-sired entire has been on form in the Premier Series for Butler, winning at Louth County and finishing third in Cork.
Butler’s eventual second place finish leaves him in a good position heading into Tattersalls, the final round that counts for selection.
Captain Kelly immediately found a shorter route home with Ringwood Glen.
Only fractionally faster, the clock recorded 38.20, Kelly was the only other rider on the day to supply a faultless second round.
Frank Curran, having delivered a textbook performance after lowering the first fence with New World on their first outing, proved out of luck on his second time out adding 12 faults to his aggregate total. Daryl Walker riding Cushions also faulted at the combination and the penultimate vertical to finish on a total of 12 faults.
Catherine Thornton hoped to keep her score to a single penalty with the Lux Z-sired stallion Derryinver Luxury Cruise but the northern rider finished on a total score of five faults in 46.20.
Ger O’Neill was the first rider to return on a zero score with Go For It and looked set to deliver with the Toulon-sired nine-year-old but had his hopes dashed when the penultimate vertical once again came down. Four faults in a time of 44.04 would stand for third place in the line-up.
John McLaughlin made the same decision with Javas Wild Child. He finished slightly quicker than O’Neill but picked up eight faults in 42.81 when lowering the combination and penultimate vertical.
Last to go and the only rider able to deny Kelly was colleague Captain Geoff Curran. Curran, partnered with Mullaghbane, stopped the clock at 45.62 with a single pole on the ground.