CO Down rider Steven Smith produced a polished display of dressage to take the narrowest of leads in the NutriScience CCI4*-L feature showcase at Ballindenisk on Thursday.

Riding Galwaybay Echo for owner June Burgess, Smith impressed the Ground Jury to score a classy 33.0 and heads into today’s cross-country phase holding a mere 0.1 advantage over Co Meath man Michael McNally with Eclipto.

Both combinations are already winners on the national circuit this season, while chasing them in third spot at this early stage is the Olympic-listed combination of Brian Morrison and Global Mentor (34.8).

The leaderboard is fairly tight, and with just seven marks separating the field, any one of the 11 runners could be in with a chance. “The track is big, bold and technical,” said the current leader Smith. “There is everything on it, from both left and right-handed corners to lots of combinations. That said, the ground is good, there is lots of grass cover and I’m looking forward to it.”

Strong competition

There is a glittering array of medallists featuring at the business end of the NutriScience CCI4*-S which sees Sarah Ennis lead the pack aboard her WEG hero Horseware Stellor Rebound on 22.6. Three marks adrift, fellow squad member Padraig McCarthy lies in second spot with the former Sir Mark Todd ride Leonidas while Sam Watson and Tullabeg Flamenco complete the top three on 27.0. Cathal Daniels, who has only just returned to competition following a broken collarbone, is in fifth place with Rioghan Rua (30.0).

Another listed rider, Joseph Murphy leads the Pegus Feeds CCI3*-L aboard Chocolat. With a rack of good placings behind him, Murphy carries forward a score of 26.2, a fraction ahead of Austin O’Connor with Isazsa (26.3).

In the competitive short format equivalent, Elizabeth Power fills the top spot with Greenfort Georgeous George, while Clare Abbot and Mr Mighty head the CCI2*-L.

Olympic qualifier

As one of the few international events to hold a qualification for this year’s Olympic Games, the fixture carries added status, and is an important outing from a team perspective. As a result, it is good to see the attendance of British-based riders, Padraig McCarthy, Austin O’Connor and Fred Scala who, as Irish Olympic hopefuls and high-performance athletes have all gained special permission to travel.

This has been a boost to High Performance manager Sally Corscadden and her coaching team, and gives them a rare opportunity to regroup with most of the listed riders.

The long format cross-country phases kick off today (Saturday) at 1.30pm.