THREE young riders occupied the first three places in the Irish Sport Horse Series five-year-old final in Mullingar last Sunday, proving that the future is safe for Irish show jumping. With a €3,150 prize fund on offer, a total of 34 combinations qualified to battle it out for Sunday’s final.

The team of Alan Wade, Robert Fagan, Seamus Casey, Killian Thornton, Noelle Reidy, Patricia Collins, plus assistants Abdeslam Chitnalah and Michael Keaveney, set out a tricky enough 1.20m course for the finalists, and an even 10 answered all the first round questions correctly to progress to the jump-off.