THE Andalucia Sunshine Tour drew to a close in Vejer de la Frontera, Spain, at the weekend, with great celebrations as the tour commemorated its 30th anniversary. Numerous Irish riders have competed at this year’s tour, in fact Ireland had the third highest number of riders participating at 7%, behind Spain at 32% and Great Britain at 14%.

The final week commenced last Tuesday, March 19th, with Sophie Dalm and Catharina Z runners-up in the morning’s Five-year-old 1.15m class, while the Six-year-old 1.25m class saw Greg Broderick on BP Millionaire finishing third, followed by Seamus Hughes Kennedy on ESI Labella n fourth.

The afternoon’s Six-year-old 1.25m class saw Jodie Creighton place fourth on Ballypatrick Hero. The Seven-year-old 1.35m class saw Conor Drain on Millstreet Van De Kruishorst in fourth.

The Irish dominated Wednesday’s Six-year-old 1.30m Final, with six in the top 10. The class was won by Michael Pender on Madgeslane Luidam (as reported last week), with Max O’Reilly Hyland on Netflix VK in third; Shane O’Reilly on BWE Windsor in fifth.

Meanwhile, the Six-year-old 1.25m Farewell class saw Jonathan Smyth and Coco Douglas in second and Andrew Farren fourth on Nevada TE. Anthony Condon rode SFS Houdini to take fifth in the day’s Eight-year-old 1.40m class, while the Five-year-old 1.20m Final saw Susan Fitzpatrick place third with Touchable WH. The Seven-year-old 1.40m Final saw second place going to Leah Stack on Luigi and fifth place to Fitzpatrick on BP Goodfellas.

Thursday morning’s Five-year-old 1.15m class saw Tomas Doyle third on Monbeg Winston and Grace McHugh fourth on O Lala EB. Niamh McEvoy rode BP Limitless into fourth place in the Medium Tour 1.45m class, with Smyth on Crystal Graf in fifth. The Big Tour 1.35m class saw Billy Twomey finish third on La Vie, while in the 1.10m class Niamh Devlin came second on HHS Blue Moon.

Oisin Dillon on Ballybeg Loui secured second place in the Small Tour 1.40m class; Farren on Nevada TE was second in the Six-year-old 1.25m class and Devlin took another second in the 1.20m class on Fernhill Clooney.

Sean Monaghan won the Seven-year-old 1.35m class on Tiberio Della Caccia, while Isabel O’Brien on Javas Gucci won the 1.30m class. Smyth on MB Sandro Star won the Medium Tour 1.30m class, with Drain on Lord Thurricane in fifth. Pender on HHS Fortune were runners-up in the Big Tour 1.50m class. In the Eight-year-old 1.45m Farewell class, Drain on Covehill Charlie were second and Jack Ryan on L were fourth.

Seamus Hughes Kennedy and Echonix won the Big Tour 1.35m class at Vejer de la Frontera on Friday \ Sunshine Tour

Friday started well for Hughes Kennedy, who won the Big Tour 1.35m class riding Echonix, followed in third place by Rhys Williams on Semeli. Monaghan was runner-up in the Small Tour 1.45m class on L-Piccola, while Devlin on Fernhill Clooney won the 1.20m class and McHugh on Cruising With Alice won the Small Tour 1.30m class.

Jessica Burke placed fifth with African Affair in the Medium Tour 1.30m class, with Devlin on HHS Bue Moon second in the 1.10m class. Doyle and Monbeg Sunny Spells won the 1.30m Trophy class.

Saturday’s Big Tour 1.35m class saw a second place for Hughes Kennedy on Echonix and a third for Rhys Williams on Semeli.

Richard Howley won the Big Tour 1.50m class riding Mansini Ltd, with Twomey on Diego Del Caribe in fourth. The Medium Tour 1.40m class saw Emily Turkington on Diwali De Runya finish fifth, while Robyn McOwan on Enji Du Barquet won the 1.25m class.

Burke rode Inpulss into fourth place in the Small 1.45m Grand Prix, while McHugh on Cruising With Alice were third in the Small Tour 1.30m class.

The final day of the Tour on Sunday saw a series of Invitational classes being held. The Medium Tour 1.50m class saw Pender runner-up with HHS Los Angeles, followed by Smyth on Crystal Graf in fifth. Doyle on Monbeg Sunny Spells came third in the 1.35m class. In the concluding 1.60m Grand Prix Final, Twomey and Diego Del Caribe placed third.