The Blarney Castle three-day event, despite getting underway yesterday in glorious sunshine, is a likely candidate to join the growing list of cancellations following the recent bad weather. The organisers will make a final decision after a 9 a.m. course inspection this morning, but heavy overnight rain on Wednesday has undone all the drying that had already taken place out on the course.
Both the steeplechase and cross-country are waterlogged and although the hosting Colthurst family and their team have put in a huge amount of remedial work, it is unlikely that anything will be effective enough to save the fixture.
Biggest concern is whether medical and veterinary assistance can be got out to the furthest reaches of the course and there are doubts whether this could be achieved, even with four-wheel drive vehicles, if ground conditions do not improve dramatically. "The safety of rider and horse is absolutely paramount," said technical delegate Andy Griffiths, who will be chief among the decision makers after today's course inspection.
In deference to the footing, the one-star dressage arena was moved from its prime position in front of Blarney House to the sand arena off the avenue, which provided considerably better going.
Northern-rider Steven Smith made the biggest impression with Gina Johnson's chestnut mare Sheepcote Solitude, whose near faultless test earned the winning mark of 36.74.
Britain's Mary King, winner at Badminton in 2000, came closest with a score of 36.96 on Pneumatic, while Switzerland's Florian Iseli and the veteran Marid Mac Carido were the only other pair to break the 39-point barrier, lying third on 39.35.
Another former Badminton champion, Chris Bartle, heads the two-star field with the oddly-marked and oddly-named Pie Eyed. The Fast Frigate grey, which has a red-brown patch over one eye, scored 36.74 for the test that his jockey designed as part of his rewrite of all the eventing tests this season.
Pie Eyed leads a quintet of Irish-bred horses at the top, with Leslie Law second on Another Garrison ahead of fellow Briton Steven James with Ferndale Rebel.
Aoife Donnelly, winner of the Blarney junior class last year, is best of the Irish in fourth place with Glencool, ahead of Britain's Oliver Townend on the Prospect Pride gelding It's Delaney.
PLACINGS: Two-star (placings after first day of dressage) - 1, Britain's Pie Eyed (C Bartle), 45.60 penalties; 2, Britain's Another Garrison (L Law), 47.21; 3, Britain's Ferndale Rebel (S James), 47.40; 4, Ireland's Glencool (A Donnelly), 48.20; 5, Britain's It's Delaney (O Townend), 48.41; 6, Britain's Nipper (R Powell), 48.60.
One-star (placings after first day of dressage) - 1, Ireland's Sheepcote Solitude (S Smith), 36.74; 2, Britain's Pneumatic (M King), 36.96; 3, Switzerland's M Mac Carido (Florian Iseli), 47.40; 4, Ireland's Ram Tap (M Creighton), 40.44; 5, Ireland's Cavaldi (H Hamilton), 43.49; 6, Ireland's Rocco Fox (C Lambert).
