KILKENNY-based British international John Tilley was crowned White’s Agri leading rider at Ballindenisk last Sunday, when his three rides in the CCI3*-S were all placed a day after he had landed the Johnson & Perrott Land Rover CCI1*-Intro on Grand Espoir.

Eight of the 14 starters picked up at least four penalties in the show jumping phase on Saturday morning, one of whom retired across the country later in the day. While the fixed fences caused just that one problem, only three combinations managed to beat the clock and, completing on their dressage scores, they filled the top three placings.

With the only sub-30 penalty score, Tilley claimed the honours on Grand Espoir (29.7), ahead of Ireland’s Caitie Slater and Richard Ames’s traditionally-bred Irish Sport Horse gelding Belline Imperial Diamond (30.7), a six-year-old bay by Imperial Hights.

Co Down-based Australian international Symone Brown finished third on her own ISH gelding Merlot (34.8), a 14-year-old son of Lancelot.

Tilley lets his riding, and his partner Andrew Williams, do the talking for their Kilkenny International Sporthorses. “This horse has done very, very little,” said Williams. “We had him to produce at the beginning of last year and were ready to take him to Hillcrest, when he was bought by the American rider Cosby Green. She just tricked around with him over the summer and then, as he had grown too big for her, she asked us if we would like to buy him.

“We did, but have recently sold him to the Greek rider Christina Nathanail, who is leaving the horse with us to produce for a bit. She will then take over the ride to prepare for the Olympics. We were really delighted with the horse, as he had just the one previous outing, in the EI110 at Crecora, where he finished seventh (of 29). The one-star track here asked enough questions and, in places, was much like the two-star. The time was tight in the short format classes.”

Registered with the Anglo European Studbook, the seven-year-old Grand Espoir is by Diarado and was bred in England by Sally Foster’s Groomsbridge Stud. His dam is the British Sport Horse mare Tout Fleur, who is by the thoroughbred Groomsbridge May I. One name which catches the eye on the lower half of Grand Espoir’s pedigree page is that of Shergar.