GONE Girl VB was named the 2023 HSI Flexible five-year-old National Champion in the main ring in the early morning of on the final day of the 2023 Dublin Horse Show.

Owned by Lorraine MacGuiness, she is by Emerald Van’t Ruytershof out of Bellissimo (Cobra) and was ridden and bred by Kilkenny’s Vincent Byrne.

“We’re delighted with the result. I actually bred her myself, her mother is a half-sister to a very good horse of mine Mr Rockefeller who I jumped the Premier Series with.

“A friend of mine, Ado Moran, broke her for me. She was second in Dublin in 2022 as a four-year-old. We sold her last year to Lorraine McGuiness and she decided to leave her with us which is a really nice thing; to sell her and then still be part of producing her is fantastic.

“She is very straightforward. She is a pleasure to ride. You can go into the jump-off confident that you can have a go, that she is going to go in and try her best to jump the jumps, she is willing to go with you always.

“I find that she is quite smart. When she turns back she’s looking for the jump. She knows what you want her to do so it’s easier, you don’t have to force any of it. In the jump-off, the distances just came up; I didn’t have to make too many adjustments and she helped that as well. She was looking for the jump as much as I was.

“The plan now is to hopefully bring her to Lanaken (Young Horse World Championships). The two shows we had set out for her this year were Dublin and Lanaken. Then as part of that plan she ended up doing Tattersalls because for the final they were going against the clock, the five-year-olds don’t often get a chance to do that so it was good preparation for her.

“She ended up winning there, so it seems that she picked it up fairly quick, so that was a great way to be coming to Dublin.

Competitive

Some 16 horses had earned a place in the main arena on the final day to battle it out for the five-year-old title and Jack Bamber Perpetual Challenge Cup.

Just eight combinations managed to produce a first round clear to progress to the jump-off. First to go was Ger O’Neill and KM Sport Horses Ballinaguilkey Special Star (Big Star x Ramiro B), bred John and Barbara Walsh. They lodged a second clear round and set the pace in 36.67, which would be good enough for the runner-up spot in the final line-up.

Second in, Nicolas Connors with Ann Connors’ home-bred Jump The Gun (I’m Special de Muze x Master Imp) they were unlucky to have one fence down in 37.73.

Byrne was next with Gone Girl. A superb clear in 36.55 brought them straight to the top-spot, a position they would maintain until the end. Brendan Murphy and Martina McCrory’s home-bred OKE Dixieland Rock (Elvis Ter Putte x Cobra) had the final fence down in 39.30 for seventh place.

Boleybawn Alvaro (Dominator 2000 Z x Crown Z), bred and owned by Ronan Rothwell and ridden by Niamh McEvoy, posted a fault-free round in 37.32 which put them into third place. Brian Moran’s Fortside Bonnaroo (Aganix Du Seigneur x Lux Z), bred by Catherine Thornton and ridden by Robyn Moran, had the penultimate fence down in 38.16 for sixth place.

Mikey Pender and his own home-bred stallion Madgeslane Luidam (Luidam x O.B.O.S. Quality 004) began well but took the wrong course and were eliminated leaving them in eighth place.

Last to go, Ger O’Neill and his second mount, Martin Egan’s Ballyshan BF Super Hero (Celtic Hero B Z x Lux Z), bred Gary Doherty, had the final fence down in a time of 36.69 which would leave them in fourth place as the fastest four -faulter.