EQUESTRIAN SPORT/Punchestown International Sport Horse Show: Pippa Funnell, fresh from her triumph at Badminton 10 days ago, now has designs on the IFG prizefund at Punchestown, where the start of the three-day event tomorrow opens an equestrian extravaganza that also includes top class show jumping, the Emirates Airlines endurance challenge and the Paddy Power international inter-hunt chase, all under the guise of the new International Sport Horse Show.
Funnell, who already had two individual European titles under her belt before claiming the big one at Badminton, returns to Punchestown after a two-year gap - due to the foot-and-mouth crisis - with victory as her goal on Primmore's Pride.
Funnell is still suffering from the ligament damage to her ankle, incurred in a fall just before Badminton, but the Sussex-based rider is confident that Primmore's Pride can provide the right horsepower for the three-star at Punchestown, having finished fourth here in the two-star two in 2000 and then going on to win the young horse championship at Le Lion d'Angers that autumn.
There is plenty of opposition in the star-studded field, however, including the 2000 three-star champion, Frenchman Franck Bourny, who this time returns with the lightly campaigned Kinlochleven, formerly ridden by Australian Brook Staples and, rather more briefly, by New Zealander Andrew Nicholson.
Nicholson has two rides in the IFG three-star and is joined by fellow Kiwi, reigning world champion Blyth Tait, who took the Punchestown two-star honours in 2000, but is now aiming Rongotai at the three-star winner's enclosure.
The three-star includes a team competition, for which Irish chef d'equipe Helen Cantillon-O'Keeffe had the unenviable task of naming a home quartet from the 17 runners in the senior class. She has settled on Eric Smiley to go as pathfinder with Macloud. Ken Mahon and the stallion Test Flight are in the number two slot, followed by Sasha Harrison (Look Sharp) and Jane O'Flynn (Kilnadeema Star).
All four riders are bidding to catch the selectors eyes in the run-up to the world equestrian games at Jerez in Spain next September.
"Every horse running here will be looking towards the Europeans next year and quite a few of them towards the world equestrian games," Cantillon-O'Keeffe said yesterday.
Punchestown is being used by several countries as a testing ground for the world games, for which Ireland will be fielding a squad of six horses. But Punchestown is also the venue for next year's European championships and, as hosts, Ireland are allowed to have 12 runners.
Cross-country course designer Tommy Brennan, who has wrought a major transformation on the Punchestown track for this week's event, will be in charge again next year, but although he has kept many of his 2003 European designs under wraps, he has given the riders plenty to think about on the 23-fence challenge that will be the highlight of Saturday's action.
In show jumping news, Kerrygold yesterday announced a €20,000 sponsorship package for the national Grand Prix show jumping league.
The new league sponsorship will be known as the Kerrygold national Grand Prix league. The series runs at 32 fixtures around the country, including Punchestown on Saturday, with the €10,000 Grand Prix .
