Here’s Lucy: Latta joins Irish eventing elite with Badminton runner-up finish

Olympics now the dream for part-time athlete Lucy Latta has achieved one of the greatest results in the history of Irish eventing, after posting a runner-up finish at the prestigious Mars Badminton Horse Trials today. Eight faults on RCA Patron Saint in today’s jumping phase enabled Latta to rise to second from an overnight position of third in the 75th edition of the competition. 51-year-old New Zealand rider Caroline Powell and the Irish Sport Horse Greenacres Special Cavalier, bred in Meath by Michael Callery, overtook the Wexford native with a clear round however, to claim the coveted spoils with a total penalty count of 43.2. Latta was agonisingly close to ending the 59-year wait for an Irish victory, from Major Eddie Boylan’s triumph on Durlas Eile in 1965. The 27-year-old recorded a tally of 45.2 penalties but it was a remarkable result nonetheless, Ireland’s best since Boylan prevailed. Not alone […]