UNDERAGE European championships take place every year but what made the Junior and Young Rider eventing championships so special in 2017 was that they were staged in Millstreet, Co Cork.

Disappointingly, none of the medals stayed in this country, Alex Power being the highest-placed Irish rider in the Junior section when 10th with the seven-year-old Hanoverian gelding Lakantus, while Cathal Daniels, who was to receive an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship before the end of the year, was fourth in the Young Riders championship on Sammy Davis Junior.

The Duggan family and the team at Millstreet did a first rate job in hosting the championships and deserved better support from the home equestrian community.

Why was nothing done to encourage a large crowd of flag-waving young Irish to attend on cross-country day at least?

Abroad, the pony show jumping team of Harry Allen, Abbie Sweetnam, Kate Derwin and Ciaran Nallon won gold at Kaposvar, Hungary with Allen and Derwin winning individual gold and silver respectively. At the same venue, the pony eventing quartet of Zara Nelson, Hannah Adams, Isabelle Comerford and Jennifer Kuehnle claimed team bronze.

In November, Allen was presented with the FEI Longines Rising Star Award at a gala in Montevideo, Uruguay. The 16-year-old received over 50% of the public vote while over half of the panel of judges also voted for him.

JOY FOR ANHOLD

Donnacha Anhold only evented between the end of March and the start of June this year and didn’t compete at all at any Show Jumping Ireland-affiliated fixture.

However, the Sligo solicitor and breeder did feature as the owner of Citi Business who, in the second half of the season, was ridden by Padraic Judge.

The combination didn’t travel too far abroad but, in October, won the Puissance competition at the three-star Horse of the Year Show in Birmingham before finishing equal second in the five-star Puissance class at Olympia in December.

The owner was caught on TV punching the air in delight when Citi Business cleared the wall in one of the earlier rounds at the London venue.

BEST DRESSED

Show jumping results however had nothing to do with a photograph of Donnacha which appeared in the Irish Horse World of September 16th as it was of him being presented with a Longines watch as winner of the best dressed male prize on day one of Irish Champions Weekend at Leopardstown. Nice one Donnacha!