KILDARE'S Mikey Pender is ending a very successful year on a high after he finished equal first with Matt Sampson in the Puissance at the TheraPlateUK Liverpool International Horse Show on Sunday evening.

Pender partnered his 2018 Dublin Horse Show Puissance winner, Hearton du Bois Halleux, to victory in the Equitop GLME sponsored class. Sampson was slightly more unfamiliar with his mount Top Dollar VI, he was offered the rider from Laura Renwick shortly before the competition got underway.

The crowd-pleasing competition began with 11 combinations, as the rounds progressed so did the intensity with five riders progressing to the fifth and final round. Irish riders dominating the proceedings. Third place was divided between three Irish riders – Shane Breen, Nano Healy and Michael Whyte.

Yorkshireman Sampson and Pender shared the top prize after they both jumped 2.20 metres (7ft 3in) to clear the famous red wall.

Speaking about the victory Pender said: "He was a little bit sticky in the first round, but he felt more comfortable with each round, and in the last round, it was the best round he put in. I was delighted with him.

"We were equal first in Dublin this year, and I feel like he is getting better and better every time. He has jumped 2.20 metres twice now."

Sampson seemed slightly more surprised by his success. "It was a bit different because I hadn't jumped him before," Sampson said. "I didn't really know him, so I just tried to ride forward and give him a little bit of room because he is such a big horse, and keep him confident.

"I knew about 30 minutes before the class about the ride. Laura rang me and asked me what I was doing, and I said 'nothing' and she said 'do you want to ride the horse in the puissance?' and that was that.

"If I don't ride him again, it was great to end on a high. It was amazing. I had only ever done one puissance before at a show in Holland, so I don't have a lot of experience in that type of class.”

Puissance celebrations at the Liverpool International Horse Show