Four five-star podiums and triumphs at two and three-star for Irish athletes
There were four Irish podiums at five-star level this week, with three at the Major League Show Jumping leg in America and one in Mexico.
Shane Sweetnam and the Connolly Stud Farm-bred James Kann Cruz (ISH) made the top three in the Highlands Cup, the Grand Prix in Amenia, maintaining their outstanding consistency of recent months in the USA.
Conor Swail was third too at the same venue with Theo 160, and David O’Brien went even closer to victory with a silver medal on board Coleccini.
Meanwhile, further south, Cian O’Connor posted a number of big results in San Miguel de Allende, including securing a bronze medal with Emeraldo 4.
The week’s victories at 1.45m or higher came yesterday (Sunday) via Trevor Breen, who won the Grand Prix at the Horse of the Year Show in Birmingham yesterday, and O’Connor, a two-star GP victor along with Pegasus.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, the Olympic pairing of Sweetnam and James Kann Cruz (ISH) racked up another trademark double clear and top three Grand Prix finish, when slotting into third in the five-star Highlands Cup in America.
The gelding known in his stable as Gizmo and owned by Gizmo Partners, is a renowned jumping machine and trier, but can be susceptible in jump-offs to really nimble opposition.
And that was what occurred in the New York State venue, as once more, he never looked like touching a rail and with his Castlemagner-raised rider cajoling him all the way in that nuanced fashion that is key to this partnership, left nothing behind in clocking a jump-off time of 42.82 seconds.
That was significantly quicker than Erynn Ballard (CAN) and Fave D’authuit, who registered 45.52 and Sweetnam’s fellow Irishman Swail, who locked up the top five with another double clear in 46.79 on Clonterm Obolensky.
Gregory Wathelet (BEL) was quicker in clocking 42.16 with Ace Of Hearts however, but they both had to give best to Germany’s Rene Dittmer, whose Corsica X took another 0.15 off that mark to land the spoils.
Swail continued his rich vein of form on the Major League Show Jumping series by finishing third in the five-star speed class at this week’s Amenia leg.
The Darragh Cross native led the Trelawny Trailblazers to success in the team event at Greenwich a fortnight ago, with a couple of clear rounds on Casturano, and bagged a bronze medal in one of the individual competitions.
This time, in New York State, he partnered Theo 160 to that position in the individual round on Friday night Irish time, out of a field of 48. They stopped the clock clear in 65.27 seconds, which was just seven hundredths of a second off the silver, though World No 1 U25 athlete, Nina Mallevaey (FRA) was a comfortable winner, with My Clementine showing the field a clean pair of heels with a time of 64.21.
On Saturday, David O’Brien was a five-star runner-up at the New York State meet, guiding Coleccini to a fantastic double clear behind the red-hot Richard Vogel, with Con Quality.
A total of 14 combinations from the 40 participating went clear through the initial test of the 1.45m Winning Round class but with a quartet opting not to return that left ten contending in the jump-off.
Another four failed to repeat their first-round efforts but of the other sextet, O’Brien was right in the mix. Indeed, while no one could approach the unstoppable Vogel and Con Quality, who recorded a lightning quick time of 45.21 seconds, the Galwegian was a clear best of rest.
With his 11-year-old grey mare holding nothing back and keeping all the rails intact once more, they stopped the clock on 47.14, more than a second ahead of Amy Millar (CAN) with Christiano.
Further south, O’Connor and Emeraldo 4 finished third in the feature on Friday night’s programme at the lucrative five-star show in San Miguel de Allende.
The Olympic medallist and the nine-year-old gelding continued their recent run of good form after top-five finishes at the Dublin Horse Show and in Coapexpan last month with a brilliant performance just a half-second behind victorious John Perez Bohm with Gigi-Carmen (COL), and two-hundredths of a second in arrears of runner-up Luis Pedro Biraben (ARG) with Georgina De Carles.
Emeraldo zipped across the 1.50m course seemingly effortlessly, and with real intent. They stopped the timers on 39.83 having jumped a second clear round to secure a five-star podium and bag another big payday for the Meath-based Kildare pilot and connections.
And he was in the money again on Saturday night, when guiding Kentucky TN to sixth behind home favourite Federico Fernandez and Romeo in the 1.60m GNP Grand Prix at the Otomi Equestrian Club.
They repeated that finish in Sunday’s five-star two-phase class, which was won by Chile’s Samuel Parot with Tiffany De Olid and then rounded off a very lucrative week with victory in the two-star Grand Prix on Pegasus, their jump-off time of 38.66 cementing the top spot.
Bertram Allen also just missed out on a top five Grand Prix finish on Sunday, with one jumping error by Pacino Amiro (ISH) in the tiebreaker dropping them to sixth in the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Roma, won by Harrie Smolders (NED) with the 16-year-old Monaco.
Ten pairs made it through the first examination at the Circus Maximus, only half of which backed that up second time around. Allen and his Simon Scott-bred 13-year-old were the quickest of the four-faulters on 34.91.
Irish riders shone at three-star level on both sides of the Atlantic, with pride of place going to the victory of Trevor Breen and his homebred Kannoon Blue in the Leading Showjumper of the Year Grand Prix in Birmingham on Sunday night.
Breen has enjoyed a brilliant year since making a seamless return from near catastrophic injury, after breaking his neck and back in a fall in Hamburg last May. He added this prestigious prize to his CV by securing the only double clear of the competition on his nine-year-old grey gelding.
There were six clears in the first round and they were joined by two four-faulters in the second stanza. Included among the clears was Gort athlete, Jessica Burke, and the eight-year-old Barry McCann-bred gelding Seapatrick Toulon (ISH). In a nod to the cleverness of the course design of newly announced jumping designer for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 Alan Wade, only Breen could replicate the initial endeavours, though Burke must have been delighted with her neophyte’s efforts to finish seventh.
So though Breen’s time of 39.10 was not the quickest, you have to leave the rails intact and indeed it was one of those with four faults from the first round, Alexander McLean (GBR), riding Gino F, who finished runner-up with a clear in 37.30 and that fastest aggregate.
“Kannoon Blue is a phenomenal horse,” the Tipperary man was quoted as saying in Horse & Hound. “He’s a half-brother to Highland President, who (as a member of the 2023 European Championship silver medal-winning team and this year’s Longines League Of Nations winners in Abu Dhabi) would traditionally be my best horse.
“But this guy is really coming of age this year. He’s just got better and better. I’ve always believed in him, so it’s nice when that starts to come into fruition. He ticks all the boxes, he has huge amounts of scope, he’s unbelievably careful and he’s quite quick as well – and he’s getting quicker.
“He’s an unbelievable horse to ride. I really think there’s not much that he won’t be able to do in the future.
“It’s been a phenomenal year – I couldn’t have dreamt of this kind of year when I was lying in the hospital bed in Hamburg.
“Huge thanks to my team, my wife Caroline, my family, owners and staff at home. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to come back and to get going as well as I have with all the horses. It’s a huge team effort, thank you to everyone for putting me here – it’s all down to them.”
Like Breen, Anthony Condon rarely emerges from the big shows in his base in England, and the Waterford native piloted the Irish Sport Horse LMD Marko to a podium berth in a three-star speed class in Birmingham on Friday.
Bred in Galway by Larry McDermott and owned by Wyndham St John, Marko jumped the 1.45m track in the Andrews Bowen International Arena superbly and was quick enough in 53.91 for third, with victory going to Briton Laura Renwick and Cottee.
Back in America, David Blake was third in the three-star Grand Prix at Tryon International on Saturday night with Conblue.
Nine combos qualified for the jump-off, which proved a supreme challenge, with only winner Rubert Carl Winkelmann (GER) with Imodo, and Alejandro Leonardo Winkler (MEX) with Flagship De Hus able to mirror the feat.
With so many of the field having trouble, Blake focused on leaving all the obstacles intact and Conblue did that for the Tuamgraney native to bag the podium berth despite picking up two time faults.
On Sunday, Mark McAuley was second in a 1.50m speed class at Gorla Minore. Riding Django Ste Hermelle, the Louth athlete threw caution to the wind and earned due rewards with a brilliant clear in 44.82.
That was an outstanding effort, as only five sets of horse and rider were able to leave every rail up. Of those that did, only one other could break 45 seconds and unfortunately for McAuley, Pius Schwizer (SUI) and Brilliant Berlin snipped almost eight-tenths of a second off to prevail, with a time of 44.04.
BREEDING
CSF JAMES KANN CRUZ (ISH) – 2013 gelding by Kannan (KWPN) out of CSF Telly Cruz (ISH) by Cruising (ISH)[TIH]. Breeder: Patrick Connolly, Co Galway. Owner: Gizmo Partners, LLC. Rider: Shane Sweetnam (IRL).
PACINO AMIRO (ISH) – 2012 gelding by Pacino (BWP) out of Carnone Dancing Queen (ISH) by NC Amiro (AES). Breeder: Simon Scott, Co Donegal. Owner: Ballywalter Stables Ltd. Rider: Bertram Allen (IRL).
LMD MARKO (ISH) – 2015 gelding by Goodluck VDL (KWPN) out of Urbella (KWPN) by Baloubet Du Rouet (SF). Breeder: Larry McDermott, Co Galway. Owner: Wyndham St. John. Rider: Anthony Condon (IRL)
SEAPATRICK TOULON (ISH) – 2017 gelding by Toulon (BWP) out of Roundthorn Delaney (ISH) by Clinton (HOLST). Breeder: Barry McCann, Co Down. Owners: Jessica Burke, Michael McCann & Michael Tarbey. Rider: Jessica Burke (IRL)