IRELAND’s international event season draws to a close at Ballindenisk next weekend, where the popular autumn fixture stages the home leg of the FEI Nations Cup series as well as a full quota of long and short format classes.

Always a well-supported fixture, this year the event has been rather hit by the crowded international calendar, and with many of the sport’s leading lights involved at the World Championships, and also at Blenheim this weekend, the list of big names is lighter than usual.

That said, in these post-Brexit times, the overseas entry is still very respectable, as Peter Fell acknowledges. “These are difficult financial times, and with the busy calendar, the overall entries are much better than we expected. We ideally would have a few more in the four-star long format class, but the remainder are excellent,” he said.

At the time of writing, the Fell family are pleased to welcome around 20 individual riders from Great Britain, as well as single representatives from America, France, India, Israel, and New Zealand. Among these are top British internationals Kirsty Chabert, David Doel, Holly Woodhead, Emily King and Angus Smales, while other recognisable names include Sam Ecroyd, Fiona Kashel and Aaron Miller.

From the southern hemisphere, it is good to see the return of New Zealand rider James Avery, who last visited the venue three years ago. Having competed in Ireland for the past few months, India’s Rajh Singh makes his debut international at Ballindenisk, as does Israeli athlete Noor Slaoui.

This year’s schedule differs slightly from the usual, to feature the three, long format CCI classes and five short CCI divisions. In a major new move however, and partially in recognition of the HSI’s significant and most welcome prize fund injection, the prestigious Michael Leonard championship for five- and six-year-olds has been elevated to international status.

All riders will see a big difference in the tracks this year, especially in the NutriScience supported four-star sectors which, for the first time have been designed by Britain’s Helen West. The long format in particular will feature an interesting new loop, and as Fell comments: “Helen has certainly put her stamp on these tracks which will give them an entirely different feel.”

Dereck Hamilton will be at the helm for the Ark Equine-sponsored three-star classes, leaving Ray Doyle in charge of the two-star, and Fell designing the one-star sectors.

At the present, it appears that there will only be two full squads for the Nations Cup, but Fell believes this could possibly change on the final run up to the event itself. In any case, the team competition is run in conjunction with the CCI4*-S class, which fields a creditable 34 runners.

Having won both the three, and the two-star equivalents at the venue, the British combination of Kirsty Chabert and Opposition Aphrodite will out to score a hat trick. Chabert will face a formidable challenge however, not only from the home side but from her compatriot Emily King who teams up with the very experienced five-star campaigner Valmy Biats.

In opposition, Irish riders hold a strong hand, and especially Clare Abbott who is on flying form with her two recently crowned national champions DHI No Fear (EI120) and Mr Mighty (EI115). Ian Cassells (Millridge Atlantis) can never be discounted, while Nicola Ennis will be out to improve further with her Millstreet runner-up Out of Print.

The long format classes are wide open, and with many of the obvious contenders absent, the showcases will be hard to call. In the four-star, the eight runners include four from the home side, and while there is no clear favourite, British rider Ali Wilkes could possibly have the edge with the up and coming Social Butterfly.

Elevated

As stated above, this year’s coveted Michael Leonard Memorial CCI* Intro class for five- and six-year-olds has been elevated to international status, as well as having been the subject of a much-increased prize fund. This boost has seen the entry list swell to 34, a number which includes several riders from Great Britain, as well as some very fancied contenders from the home side.

Among these will be Patrick Byrne with the very consistent five-year-old Belline Newmarket Delight, the Co Wexford partnership of Patrick Whelan and Dermish Chill, as well as Sian Coleman who rides Diamond Mistress.

In addition to the international classes, the closing sector of the weekend will be the final of the very competitive Four-Year-Old development league which to date has attracted a very healthy 19 entries.

Away from the competition, Ballindenisk’s usual catering will be in operation, while Peter Fell has also announced that there will be a reception on Thursday evening to “raise a glass to Michael Hennessey”. For many years, Michael was both a friend and long time supporter of Ballindenisk, and this celebration will take place at 7pm.