THE heavy rain which has fallen in Millstreet over the past few days has done little to dampen the enthusiasm of those competing in the FEI European eventing championships for Young Riders and Juniors.
As Thomas Duggan said last week, the one thing he and his team couldn’t control was the weather and, following Wednesday evening’s opening ceremony, there was a night of thunder and lightning.
Mike Etherington-Smith’s cross-country course at Drishane Castle has received praise all round and, while he and his team were delighted to see rain fall earlier in the week, they had anticipated it stopping by yesterday.
The cross-country practice fences were being moved overnight to fresh ground prior to today’s start of the Junior competition.
Those who rode their tests on Thursday had the better of conditions and while it dried up briefly on Friday morning, the rain returned with a vengeance. However, at both one and two-star levels, the leading scores were attained on the second day.
Things are very tight at the top of the Young Riders’ leaderboard where British team member Sam Ecroyd lies in first place on 35.70 penalties with the nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Tullaher Sunrise (by Shannondale Sarco St Ghyvan) on whom he won the CCI2* for riders under 25 at Tattersalls International Horse Trials 2017.
German team rider Hanna Knüppel was in second overnight with Carismo 22 (36) ahead of Victor Levecque who scored 38.30 with his French team mount RNH MC Ustinov.
England-based Co Down rider Susie Berry, who missed much of the season through injury, is well in contention after the dressage phase as she is in fourth (38.40) with Susie Wood’s nine-year-old Ricardo Z gelding Morswood. Cathal Daniels is next best-placed of the Irish as he lies 19 with Sammy Davis Junior (44.60).
Berry’s excellent score has helped Ireland into fifth in the team standings on a score of 136.20 behind France (121), Germany (125.10), Britain (125.30) and The Netherlands (126.30).
JUNIORS
In the Junior championships, Germany was lying first overnight on a penalty score of 95.20 ahead of Britain (102.70) and France (131.30) with Ireland in sixth (140.80).
British team rider Isabelle ‘Bubby’ Upton, who competed in the pony Europeans here in 2014, tops the individual standings on a superb score of 23.90. Upton rides the Dutch Warmblood gelding Eros DHI with whom she was seventh in the CICYH1* here two years ago.
Upton is followed by three members of the German team, Gesa Staas (St Stacy, 29.80) and Emma Brüssau (Donnerstag 20, 30.50), both of whom also completed their tests yesterday, and Thursday’s ‘winner’ Antonia Baumgart with Little Rose 9 (34.90).
The best-placed Irish rider at this stage is team member Alex Power who is lying 10th on a score of 41 with the German-bred seven-year-old Lakantus on whom the Kildare rider won the CCIJ1* at the Tattersalls international horse trials.
“The team was picked for all three phases,” said Gain Junior squad manager, Debbie Byrne, “and this certainly won’t be a dressage test. Thomas Duggan and his team have done a wonderful job and the cross-country is super.”