Ireland has become a happy hunting ground this year for Britain’s Izzy Taylor who followed up three-star wins at Kilguilkey and Camphire earlier in the season with a double at that level in Millstreet over the weekend.
The lead in the Noel C. Duggan Engineering CCI3* class changed throughout the phases. Taylor was fourth after dressage and second following cross-country before sealing victory on her Kilguilkey winner Perfect Stranger in the show jumping phase despite having a pole down for a total of 49.60 penalties.
In a truly international field, New Zealand’s Blyth Tait finished second and third with Darius (50.10) and Havanna van’t Castaneahof (52.90), the USA’s Jennie Brannigan placed fourth on Stella Artois (52.90) while Australia’s Kevin McNab finished fifth with Casperelli (54.90).
Taylor led from the outset to claim the short-format Connolly’s Red Mills CIC3* for the second year running with Be Touchable which completed on his dressage score of 37.10 penalties.
Although over 10 points adrift, the USA’s Kim Severson improved from eighth after the first phase to finish second on the Irish Sport Horse gelding Cooley Cross Border (47.60), a Diamond Roller 10-year-old she has left based in Ireland since the Tattersalls international event in early June.
Australia’s Andrew Hoy slotted into third with Rutherglen (47.90) ahead of the best of the Irish, Ciaran Glynn of Killossery Lodge Stud in north Co Dublin whose total of 48.10 on Susanna Francke and Peter Cole’s 11-year-old Bonnie Prince mare November Night included two costly time penalties. Paying her first visit to Millstreet, Canada’s Kathryn Robinson finished fifth with Let It Bee (51.20).
Co Cork’s Jodie O’Keeffe recorded a popular victory in the Sport Ireland CCI2* class with her father Joe’s ISH gelding Reenmore Duke, an eight-year-old by Quicksilber, while the Eventing Ireland CIC2* class went to New Zealand’s Jesse Campbell who recorded an all-the-way victory on Amsterdam 21.
While two of the three one-star classes had been completed on Friday, the Horse Sport Ireland CCI1* only reached its conclusion on Sunday when Britain’s Annie Bellamy landed another pillar to post success with Grafik.
Riding the British Sport Horse gelding Mr Chunky, Ireland’s Padraig McCarthy finished 10th in the Event Rider Masters CIC3* at Blair Castle which was won by Australia’s Shane Rose on Virgil. Although only fourth with Panmero 4 at the Scottish event, Britain’s Gemma Tattersall has wrapped up the series ahead of the seventh and final leg at Blenheim Castle in September.
In show jumping, the European championship bronze medal winner wasn’t the only Irish rider who celebrated a podium finish in Gothenburg on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, Sligo’s Richard Howley won the Under 25 1.50m Grand Prix on board the Aitkenheads’ 10-year-old Dutch Wamblood gelding Chinook with Omagh’s Jenny Rankin finishing fifth on Deirdre Bourns’s Lupicor nine-year-old, Bennys Legacy.
Elsewhere in Europe, Britain-based Tipperary native Shane Breen rounded off two weeks at Valance in France with victory in Sunday’s 1.60m Grand Prix on Team 27’s 10-year-old Lord Z gelding Laith. Across the Atlantic, Co Down-born Conor Swail landed the same day’s 1.60m World Cup qualifier at Langley in Canada on his own and Vanessa Mannix’s 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare Flower.
