RIDERS competing under red, white and blue flags may have topped and tailed the first six placings in the CCI2*-S at last weekend’s Ballindenisk international horse trials but both the USA’s Gillian Beale King (Tullibards Evita) and Britain’s John Tilley (My Turn Ramiro) are based in this country as are the four Irish riders who separated the pair.

The top four finishers completed on their flat work marks but not the dressage winner on 29.4, Alison Holden, who picked up time penalties in both jumping phases to drop to eighth with Lates Eddie (40.6). The addition of 0.4 of a show jumping time penalty didn’t affect the fifth-place finish of Ben Connors on Zuperlative (35.8) but Tilley would have finished fourth not sixth had My Turn Ramiro (37.2) not lowered one of the coloured poles.