19/03/09 A WORLD Cup Qualifying show in the Netherlands and a five-star event in Florida will see the most high-powered show jumping action this weekend, though just three Irish riders will be involved at this level. German-based Tipperaryman Denis Lynch lines out for World Cup jumping at 'S-Hertogenbosch with the formidable horsepower of 'Abbervail Van Het Dingeshof', 'Lantinus' and 'Upsilon d'Ocquier', while fellow Tipperary rider Kevin Babington appears in Wellington, Florida with 'Souvenir', alongside Sligo's Darragh Kerins and 'Night Train'. Other Irish riders also see action in Germany and Italy this weekend at two-star level, with Damien Dixon fielding 'Joy's Mouche', 'Sonnengraf CH' and 'Vivaldi' at Ravensburg, while Declan McEvoy attends Busto Arsizio with 'Triest Star', 'Umberto' and the Irish-bred Rossinan Cavalier, and where he is joined by Niall Talbot and 'Global IT Onisha', 'Nina Des Ulis' and 'Gringo'. Jumping also continues at the two-week Arezzo Toscana Tour in Italy.

17/03/09 THOLM Keane from Waterford won the fifth leg of the HSI Guidam Spring Tour today (Tuesday) at Broadmeadows Equestrian Centre in Co. Meath, with a double clear round in a time of 28.92 on Ronan Tynan's 'Redmills Krafty Jack'. Keane, the 2008 Series winner, crossed the line one-and-a-half seconds ahead of Co. Antrim's 16 year-old Conor Drain and 'Shanroe Penny', a combination that has won two of the Guidam Grands Prix since the league started in February. Today's result puts the Northern Ireland teenager at the top of the HSI Guidam leaderboard on a total of 28 points, with Newgrange's John Floody in second place on 24 points and Tholm Keane now close behind in third place on 22 points. Fifteen horse-and-rider combinations went through to the 2,500 euro Grand Prix jump-off from a startlist of 40 today on the Tom Holden-designed course. The 2009 tour, organised by the Show Jumpers' Club, features a total of 13 Grands Prix throughout Ireland, and the total prize fund will be 40,000 euro. Horse Sport Ireland is sponsoring the tour for the first time in its five year history.

15/03/09 CORK'S Billy Twomey was best of the Irish in this afternoon's (Sunday) Invitational Grand Prix at Vejer de la Frontera, the final competition of the two-month Spanish Sunshine Tour. The 31 year-old rider placed ninth with the stallion 'Goldex', jointly owned by Twomey and England's Sue Davies, after dislodging a single pole in the first round, but topping the four-faulter list with the fastest time. The eight horse jump-off was won by Britain's Guy Williams and 'Torinto van de Middel', who took home a 24,000 euro prize purse. Earlier, Ireland's Frank Curran secured the runner-up spot in the Small Tour Invitational with John Curran's 'Pepp'. Irish riders claimed more than their share of prize money at the Sunshine Tour during February and March, with Twomey, Cian O'Connor, Dave Quigley, Ivan Dalton, Mark Kinsella, Thomas O'Brien and Paul O'Shea all featuring regularly in the top ten listings.

15/03/09 IRELAND'S Jessica Kurten had to settle for second place at the three-star Grand Prix at Arezzo, Italy today (Sunday), when Italy's Gianni Govoni and 'Cyprianus Z' set a blistering pace in the competition's second round that left the Antrim-born rider trailing by almost three seconds. Riding Lady Georgina Forbes's 15 year-old bay mare 'Quibell', Kurten was one of 13 riders to make it through to the second round from a startlist of 44, and was first to go clear. The Grand Prix was a two-round competition without jump-off, and the Irish rider battled it out with Govoni and fellow Italian rider Bruno Chimirri, who finally finished third, just under two seconds off Kurten's pace. Govoni collected 8,250 euro for his win, while 39 year-old Kurten picked up 5,250.

15/03/09 KILKENNY'S Marion Hughes took a third place in this evening's (Sunday) Grand Prix at Comporta, Portugal with the Irish-bred Cavalier Royale mare 'HHS Cashmere', while Belfast-born Harry Marshall slotted another Irish-bred, 'Mandarin Smoke', into fifth. Hiughes, who is based in Portugal, was unable to catch Britain's talented Laura Renwick, who added today's two-star Grand Prix to a list of Comporta victories on board 'Limelight de Breve'. However, the third place earned Hughes 3,000 euro for her double clear round. Marshall, who now lives in Ballyclare, Co. Antrim, had a pole down with his grey mare in the 11 horse jump-off and picked up 1400 euro in prize money. Earlier in the week at Comporta, Alex Duffy claimed a runner-up spot with 'Tampa', while Trevor Breen took a fifth place on 'Womack' and Shane Breen a tenth with 'Mullaghdrin Gold Rain'.

15/03/09 JOHN Floody from Newgrange won the fourth leg of the HSI Guidam Spring Tour today (Sunday) at Kill International Equestrian Centre in Co. Kildare, with a double clear round in a time of 34.82 on Michael Smith's gelding 'Larkhill Cruiser'. Floody also won the second leg of the Spring Tour in Cavan two weeks ago on 'Slightly Bonkers'. Floody is now neck-and-neck in the series with Co. Antrim's 16 year-old Conor Drain, both riders having chalked up two Grand Prix wins. A total of 17 horse-and-rider combinations went through to the 2,500 euro Grand Prix jump-off on Tom Holden and Seamus Casey's course from a startlist of 83 today. Co, Down's Conor Swail took the runner-up spot at Kill with 'Uretto', just under half a second off the pace of 'Larkhill Cruiser'. The 2009 tour, organised by the Show Jumpers' Club, features a total of 13 Grands Prix throughout Ireland, and the total prize fund will be 40,000 euro. Horse Sport Ireland is sponsoring the tour for the first time in its five year history.

13/03/09 IRISH riders kept up their high batting average at the DeNemethy show grounds in Wellington, Florida last night (Thursday) with two top five places in the tenth round of the WEF Challenge Cup series. Forty year-old Kevin Babington from Carrick-on-Suir rode his own Holsteiner 'Caracas' into third place in the four horse jump-off but along with Brazilian runner-up Rodrigo Pessoa had a single fence down in the final round. American double Olympic Gold Medallist Beezie Madden won the class with the only double-clear round of the night on 'Onlight', though posted a much slower time than her immediate challengers. Cork-born Shane Sweetnam secured fifth place in the Grand Prix with 'Little Emir'. Babington has had two fourth places in the Challenge Series so far, and both he and Sweetnam contributed to Ireland's joint second place in the US Nations' Cup in February. Sweetnam also took second place in the US World Cup Qualifier at Green Cove Springs in January.

13/03/09 IRELAND'S Jessica Kurten took a fourth place in the last, and biggest, class of the day (Friday) at the three-star show in Arezzo, Italy on Lady Georgina Forbes's 'Castle Forbes Cadeau Z'. The Antrim-born rider, currently ranked sixth in the world, was one of 21 riders through to the second round of the 1m50 two-phase competition and steered the ten year-old mare across the line just over a second off the pace of Italian winner Juan Carlos Garcia and 'Hamilton de Perhet' in a tightly-fought finish. A total of five Irish riders are competing at Arezzo this weekend, at both one and three-star level, and the Grand Prix takes place on Sunday.

13/03/09 A WIN in the Small Grand Prix, a runner-up spot and a third place was the tally for Irish riders at the Sunshine Tour near Cadiz, Spain today (Friday). Joanne Sloane-Allen made her breakthrough into the 1m40 classes with Joe Sloan's 'ABC Loreen', out-pacing Norwegian runner up Marie Longem by a fifth of a second to win the Small Tour Grand Prix, while Cian O'Connor took the runner -up spot in the Big Tour Two Phase competition on Dermot O'Rourke's nine year-old mare 'Baloufina', a horse which has also given the Meath rider an eighth place in the last week. In the 1m40 speed competition, meanwhile, Wexford's Dave Quigley piloted Charles Britton's 'Sabatini' into third place, adding to the prize money he has collected from the two wins and the third place already registered by the chestnut mare at the Spanish tour.

11/03/09 EUROPEAN show jumping action moves to Italy and Germany this weekend, while in the US Shane Sweetnam and Richie Moloney will line out for Ireland at the Palm Beach show grounds in Wellington, Florida. Tipperary-born Denis Lynch will be Ireland's sole representative at the four-star show in Braunschweig, Germany from tomorrow (Thursday) with his top horse 'Lantinus', together with 'Abbervail Van Het Dingeshof', 'Upsilon D'Ocquier', and Irco's Lando. Five Irish riders travel to the Arezzo Toscana Tour in Italy on Friday, with World No. 6 Jessica Kurten bringing 'Castle Forbes Cadeau Z', 'Largo', 'Quibell' and 'Castle Forbes Cosma', while Meath's Cian O'Connor will field 'Baloufina', 'Complete', 'Splendour' and the Irish-bred 'Irish Independent Echo Beach'. Joining them are Marie Burke on two more Irish-breds, 'Chippison' and 'Clarequest Chippy Girl' along with 'Welta', and Declan McParland with 'Cor D'Allou' and yet another Irish-bred horse - 'Clarequest Hill Cruise'. Kelly O'Connor also appears at Arezzo, with 'Doc Holliday' and 'Butterfly High. Over in Florida Shane Sweetnam will ride 'Rolette' and 'Little Emir' in the two-star event, while Richie Moloney appears with 'Triviant'.