EQUESTRIAN SPORT: Anna Merveldt-Steffens gave Irish dressage another major boost yesterday when sweeping to victory in the €10,000 Grand Prix freestyle to music at the Italian three-star fixture in Milan, writes Grania Willis.

The Kildare-born rider, who is now based in Germany, scooped the Grand Prix Special at the Munich CDI at the beginning of the month and, once again teamed up with her trainer Jo Hinneman's 15-year-old Fosbury, scored the winning mark of 70.91 per cent yesterday to claim the €3,000 winner's cheque.

Merveldt-Steffens, who was part of the Irish team at the world equestrian games in Jerez, Spain, had finished third in Saturday's Milan Masters Grand Prix, beaten by Dutch rider Stephanie Peters and Rubinson. But, in Sunday's freestyle, it was the Irish rider that triumphed at the expense of Peters, who finished more than two percentage points adrift.

Irish show jumpers were also in winning form over the weekend, with both Cameron Hanley and Conor Swail notching up triumphs. Hanley rode Jerome to take the speed and handiness class at the big German meeting in Frankfurt on Saturday, the same day that Swail steered Edward Cawley's Zuidlaren Grand Prix winner Windgates King Koal to claim the Banca del Gottardo speed in Milan.

Trevor Coyle jumped his way back into the limelight when finishing third in the Swiss round of the World Cup in Geneva with the 11-year-old mare Fleur yesterday. Honours went to former world champion Rodrigo Pessoa, who scored with the stallion Baloubet du Rouet.

ROWING: An EGM of the Irish Amateur Rowing Union in Commercial Rowing Club in Dublin on Saturday, decided to hold all the national championships together next year on July 18th and 19th, with the option of extending to the Sunday, July 20th, if needed, writes Liam Gorman.

The original schedule had placed the junior and novice events in July and the senior and intermediate championships in August. The appointment of Richard Parr as Performance Director of the Union, was confirmed at a meeting of the IARU executive on Saturday in Neptune Rowing Club.