THREE Irish riders competed in last Sunday’s BSPS TopSpec Gold Cup finals at the Burghley international horse trials, where Nancy Lyons Teehan was biding to bring up a double in the 143cm class on her mother Louise’s Newydd Lady Marmalade.

Lying third going into the final show jumping phase, where they competed in reverse order, Lyons Teehan knew she would have to clear the joker fence if she hoped to win. Unfortunately, the gamble didn’t pay off, so she and the 16-year-old Welsh mare by Penbee Starlight Express, who dropped 17 points over the coloured poles, had to settle for second on 134.39.