THE 15 Irish horses competing at the World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in Lanaken next week are making final preparations prior to travelling to Belgium on Monday.

Last year was a significant year for the ISH Studbook, bringing home three medals. Ger O’Neill guided the six-year-old Killossery Kaiden, bred by Laura and Frank Glynn, to the gold medal, while Kildare teenager Mikey Pender picked up both silver and bronze in the five-year-old championship with Z Seven Caretina and Z Seven Canya Dance.

None of those exact combinations return this year, but a strong team of Irish horses will line out under the guidance of chef d’equipe John Ledingham. Standouts of the team include the Dublin five-year-old champion BP First Editions, ridden by Darragh Ryan and Jessica Burke’s six-year-old Dublin champion Castlelawn Captain Junior.

Ryan, who brings four horses in total, returns to Lanaken with the six-year-old Lackamore Storm who was ninth in the five-year-old world championship at the venue in 2016 and has shown great form this season, including a fourth place finish in Dublin.

Winner of the lucrative five and six-year-old Breeders Classic Final two weeks ago, Columbcille Gipsy is another to watch under Ger O’Neill in the six-year-old division. O’Neill also travels with Castlefield Vegas, recent winner of the seven-year-old Irish Sport Horse Studbook Series.

IN-FORM

The in-form Jenny Rankin is also double handed, as is Pender who will return with hopes of going one better this year.

Each of the competing Irish riders this week received a Horseware and TRM-sponsored team kit which included jackets, numnahs, rugs, Alessandro Albanese riding shirts and TRM supplements.

Kilkenny show jumper Vincent Byrne, who has been selected with Pearls Princess Gervanitas, said: “It makes such a difference to have everyone looking very smart and co-ordinated when representing Ireland and promoting the Irish Sport Horse on the world stage.

“We are tremendously grateful to Horseware, TRM and the team in Horse Sport Ireland who have helped us throughout the year and in the lead up to this young horse world championship.”

The first horse inspection takes place next Wednesday, September 20th, followed on Thursday by the first qualifying rounds for all three age categories - the five, six and seven-year-old horses.

The second qualifiers take place on Friday, where the top 30 horses, as well as all the double clears from the first and second qualifier, in each category will then go through to the grand final on Sunday, where the 2017 world champion young horses will be crowned.

The horses that don’t qualify for the finals will be eligible to compete in the consolation classes on Saturday.