Irish Sport Horse Cooley Master Class wins Kentucky three-day event with Oliver Townend

Oliver Townend and Cooley Master Class. USEA/Leslie Mintz Photo.

Oliver Townend and Angela Hislop’s Irish Sport Horse, Cooley Master Class, left all the rails in their cups this weekend to top the leaderboard and secure the win in the 2018 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky.
The top three were separated by a just 1.2 points headed into the Show Jumping phase, so when both FischerRocana FST and Michael Jung and Nobilis 18 and Christopher Burton incurred penalties, it left it open for Townend and Cooley Master Class (ISH) to take the lead. Although Townend has completed 50 four-star competitions in the last 10 years, this is Cooley Master Class’s first attempt at the level, and the 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding finished on his Dressage score.

Cooley Master Class (ISH) was bred in Co Wicklow by John Hagan. The bay gelding is by the Belgian Warmblood stallion Ramiro B, which Townend now stands at the Harthill Stud in Cheshire, out of a mare by the thoroughbred stallion Master Imp. Having won the Burghley three-day event last August with the ISH gelding, Ballaghmor Class, Townend has a chance to complete the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing when he competes at the Badminton Horse Trials in the UK with Cooley SRS, another Ramiro B gelding.

A further three Irish Sport Horses finished in the top 10, including MHS Joules who finished at 7th place, again with rider Oliver Townend (GBR). MHS King Joules is by the TB stallion Ghareeb and out of the ISH mare Gowran Park who is also the dam of the successful showjumper MHS Going Global. MHS King Joules was bred by the late Ita Brennan, Co. Kilkenny. Cooley On Show (ISH) finished at 8th place, with rider Sharon White (USA). Cooley On Show is by the stallion Ricardo Z (ZANG) and out of Jogatina (LA) by Grand D’Espagne (FR) (TB) and bred by Louise Walsh, Co. Wexford. Buck Davidson and Copper Beach round out the top ten at the 2018 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event. Davidson and Carl Segal and Sherrie Martin’s 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding added just 1.6 cross-country time penalties to their dressage score of 34.4 to finish in tenth place. Copper Beach is by Radolin (KWPN) out of Cloverballen (ISH), and bred by Paddy Daly from Co. Offaly.

The sole Irish rider, Co Mayo-born Tim Bourke and the Irish Sport Horse gelding Luckaun Quality finished in the top 20 for the fourth year in a row. Bourke and his 13-year-old son of OBOS Quality 004 were one of 11 combinations from 43 cross-country starters to go clear inside the time on the second phase.