Kerins 3rd in Florida Championship Classic

Darragh Kerins

IRELAND’S Darragh Kerins took third place in Sunday night’s feature class at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, while fellow Irish rider Richie Moloney claimed fifth.

The $82,000 Championship Jumper Classic, won by the USA’s 22 year-old Jessica Springsteen – daughter of rock legend Bruce Springsteen – saw ten international combinations go clear from a starting field of 52, with only three recording double clear rounds.

At the finish, Sligo-born Kerins and the Belgian-bred gelding E Muze Yek were over three seconds slower than the talented American and her Guidam gelding Vindicat W, but picked up over 12,000 dollars for their third place.

Kilkenny native Richie Moloney slotted the 12 year-old gelding Alsvid into fifth, with an unlucky fence down in the jump-off.

On Saturday, Co. Down’s Conor Swail was best of the Irish in Wellington’s World Cup class, with an eleventh place on the stallion Lansdowne. The competition was won by Germany’s Daniel Deusser and Cornet d’Amour.

In Portugal, Shane Breen and Zarnita claimed seventh place in the two-star Grand Prix at Vilamoura on Sunday, while in Eventing, Caroline Marwood and the Irish Sport Horse Jazzin Along finished in fourth place in the CCI2* competition at Barroca d’Alva, also in Portugal.