Ireland’s Tong wins first International Grand Prix

THIRTY-four year old Roland Tong won his first international dressage Grand Prix at Compiegne in northern France today (Sunday) riding Sarah and Keith Wrigley’s Westphalian gelding Pompidou.

Performing a routine to the music of Peter Pan, the judges awarded him 71.275 per cent, a score good enough to relegate Frenchman Pierre Subileau to second place.

Tong, who declared for Ireland last year (his mother is from Co. Down), has already qualified for the European Dressage Championships in Denmark in August through his strong results earlier in 2013.

Speaking from Compiegne, he said: “It was really great to win this in my first international season. I’ve had Pompidou for three years and he was just terrific today. He rose to the occasion and performed a great test.”

There were 14 competitors in today’s three-star Freestyle Grand Prix class.