MATTHEW Love’s final year in ponies has been going extremely well as he has rarely finished outside the first six in 13 starts since making his seasonal debut at Tyrella (4) in late March.

Seven of those outings were on his father Mickey’s traditionally bred mare Lucky For Some who, last weekend, finished on her dressage score of 32.8 penalties to win the Eventing Ireland CCIP2-S at Ballindenisk where her stable-companion, Cloughreagh Charlie, also completed on his flat work mark (34.4) to place third.

By the Connemara stallion Dunlewey Seamus, Lucky For Some was bred by Love’s mother Sarah out of the unraced Classic Cliche mare Gifted Sister. The combination won the CCIP2-S at Millstreet last August having landed the EI110 (P) at Castle Irvine, Necarne earlier that month.

Love and Lucky For Some were lying joint-fourth after dressage on 32.8 with Tom Nestor and Tullaree Ruby Tuesday. Ahead of them were Oleana Cowan and Ballylee Roller (30.9), who were to have a fence down show jumping and finished fourth, Ben Connors and Cornafest Fred (31.4), who picked up eight show jumping penalties, and Molly O’Connor with Coolnaleen Rebel (31.6) who dropped right down the leaderboard having amassed 16 penalties during the second phase.

Connors, who was one of five riders to partner two ponies in the 18-runner class, failed to complete with Meelicks River having had two stops at the same fence, 5a, in the show jumping ring.

These young riders were all awaiting news of the European championship squad after Ballindenisk but some were more relaxed than others. Love (16) decided to stay at home in Co Meath while his parents and sister Holly headed off to the west coast of France with a trip down to Adare to the J.P. McManus Pro Am, in the company of the Williamson siblings, Josh and Carla, being on his immediate agenda.

Lucky For Some and Cloughreagh Charlie were first produced by Love’s older brother Timmy who hasn’t evented this year, as yet, being more focussed on his career as an amateur jockey. Matthew also wants to follow this path and, having already taken out his licence, is looking forward to riding in a bumper when the eventing season begins to wind down.

To this end, he, Timmy and Holly, who had the ride on both Lucky For Some and Coughreagh Charlie between her brothers, headed off to Goffs UK’s Spring Store Sale at Doncaster in mid-May when, as Midland Equine, they purchased the French-bred Save Face, a six-year-old Planteur gelding with hurdle and point-to-point experience for Matthew to race.

In the blood

Racing is very much in Love’s blood but not so much in Nestor’s although his grandfather Billy had horses in training with Francis Flood and Pat Kelly. In fact, apart from a lead-rein pony when very young, Tom had little to do with ponies as his family lived in Switzerland for six years. On their return, Tom joined the Kildare Pony Club where he put his hours of studying dressage on YouTube to good use.

He had first real lesson last year with Kathleen Herbert, who is his main jumping coach and has brought him from 40cms cross-poles to 1.10m tracks in under two years, while Amanda Goldsbury, who is now based at Cooley Farms in Co Wicklow, coaches him in dressage. In addition to Tullaree Ruby Tuesday, who was purchased last year from breeder Clive Swindwell, Tom finished ninth at Ballindenisk on Freddie, one of the best-known and most consistent ponies on the Pony Club and Eventing Ireland circuits.

“He has the right coaches, the right ponies and the right attitude,” said David Nestor of his son. Nestor senior, who played Gaelic football for 10 years for Mayo, including in an all-Ireland final, is now fully immersed in equestrianism, being the Kildare Pony Club’s contact for performance activities, as well as providing ponies for Tom and his three younger siblings to ride.

The contest between Nestor and Love which started in the dressage phase last Saturday continued right to the end as the pair were clear in the two jumping phases. However, in 5m 28secs, Love got the nod when nearer the optimum time (5.42) across the country while Nestor stopped the clock on 5.22, both sauntering across the finish line.

The two could meet on the racecourse one day as well because Nestor too is thinking about going for a licence as he rides out with trainer Ross O’Sullivan and his wife Katie Walsh who kindly allow him to use their gallop for his eventers.