Cavan Winter Horse Festival: Young Rider Niamh McEvoy wins 1m45 Grand Prix

Cavan Equestrian Centre hosted their Winter Festival Show over the weekend, from the 4th – 7th November. Horse Sport Ireland were delighted to sponsor four classes on the final day – the 1m30 Table C Speed, the 1m20 Final, the 1m30 Final and the 1m45 Grand Prix on Sunday evening.

The 1m20 Final kicked off at 11.45 with a huge number entries, with 10 going clear in round one to go through to the jump-off. After three blistering double clears, Tori Dunn took first place with Sumas Taloubet (ISH) with a time of 40.39 seconds. Second place went to Eva Boland with BP Fandango (ISH) and third to Cornelius Brennan with Escarda U.

Tori Dunn with Sumas Taloubet (ISH) winner of the 1m20 Final. Photo: Laurence Dunne/jumpinaction.net

The 1m30 Final started in the afternoon, again with entries aplenty. This time a challenging course saw only five combinations through to the jump-off, and three double clears took the top three places. Last to go was Ella Clancy with Shooting Star (ISH), who secured the win by over three seconds, in a time of 32.53 seconds. Next was Madeline Roberts Allen with Daroento VDL, double clear for second place, and third place went to Olive Clarke with KPCM Diorio in a time of 39.5 seconds.

Ella Clancy with Shooting Star (ISH) winner of the 1m30 Final. Photo: Laurence Dunne/jumpinaction.net

The 1m0 Table C Speed was another nail-biting class, with 57 combinations and less than one second between the top three placings. First place ultimately went to Abigail Boland and The Hurricane (ISH) going clear in the fastest time of 45.16 seconds; second place to Sven Hadley with Topspin who added less than half a second to Abigail’s time. Third place went to Marta Hughes Bravo and Miss Belgium III who went clear in 45.84 seconds.

Abigail Boland with The Hurricane (ISH) winner of the 1m30 Speed. Photo: Laurence Dunne/jumpinaction.net

The final event of the night was the evening’s 1m45 Cavan Grand Prix, which was highly contested by young riders and experienced combinations alike. Twelve combinations made it through to the jump-off, including Emily Turkington who made it through with an impressive three horses; she went on to take 4th, 5th and 9th place in the line-up. First place went to Young Rider Niamh McEvoy with Haifa OL with a time of 38.46, just 0.4 of a second ahead of Ryan Sweetnam and Quisto who flew into second place. Third then went to Shane Goggins and DPS Revere (ISH) in a time of 39.33 seconds.

Niamh McEvoy with Haifa OL winner of the 1m45 Grand Prix. Photo: Laurence Dunne/jumpinaction.net