Emotional GP win for Talbot
Pender, Swail and O’Connor among the rosettes
Niall Talbot rode to one of the most important wins of his career as he guided his own Charming Dream Z to the top rung of the ladder in the Oliva Nova Grand Prix on the Week 3 of the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour on Sunday.
It was a highly charged occasion for the Swiss-based Kildare pilot, as he mourned the death of a friend during the week.
To that end, he was even more motivated than usual, and having finished fourth earlier in the Grand Prix Qualifier with Fts Elliot on Friday, emerged from a stacked ten-strong jump-off to take the honours in the feature.
Talbot and his ten-year-old stallion were very steady in the opening round, with only one of the qualifiers navigating the opening examination in a slower time.
But that first outing is not a speed test of course, and when it was about brave decisions, having the scope to leave out a stride in the crucial opening line and thus shaving off vital decimals of seconds, no one could better Charming Dream Z and Talbot (below), who bagged gold with a stunning time of 39.40, seven tenths of a second quicker than Bart Jay Junior Vadecasteele (BEL) with Vamos De La Pomme d’Or Z.
“I lost a very good friend, John Mulvey, this week,” Talbot explained after the conclusion of the 1.50m class. “He was a very popular guy and a great horseman in Ireland and he passed away after a long illness on Tuesday. His funeral was on Friday, and it was special for me to get a win like this now. Today was for him, I think we maybe had a little help from above.
“I walked the jump-off course beforehand because there were some new jumps for it, and I just made my plan. The first line was from an oxer to a vertical with nine strides and because my horse has a lot of stride, I knew I could get up there on eight. I think that’s probably where he won the class, in the first line where we left a stride out.
“He’s a horse we think a lot of him,” Talbot added of his equine partner. “He’s been jumping at this level this year and all summer he’s been just kind of knocking on the door for a win. I’m delighted that we got one now this week at three-star Grand Prix level.”
Elsewhere in Spain, Mikey Pender bagged a bronze medal in a 1.50m speed class at the five-star show in A Coruña on Saturday. The first four separated themselves by some distance from the remainder of the field and Castledermot man, Pender steered the Miguel Bravo-bred Irish Sport Horse into third HHS Orchidee into third, just ahead of Spaniard Alvaro Gonzalez de Zarate Fernandez and Casa Diva PS with a tenth of a second to spare in a time of 61.09.
The calibre of competition was illustrated by who shared the podium with Pender, as victory went to world number nine Julien Epaillard (FRA) with Easy Up de Grandry, recording an unbelievable time of 59.86 that not even Henrik von Eckermann (SWE) and Glamour Girl could improve upon, having to settle for runner-up.
There was agony for Denis Lynch in Sunday’s Longines FEI World Cup class as he and the nine-year-old Chicago jumped clear but were just a smidgeon outside the allowed time of 76 seconds, to pick up a time fault. With seven going clear, that still meant they picked up eighth-place prize money and it is clear that Lynch’s young charge is a horse on the up.
The Tipperary man is the leading Irish athlete in the Western European League standings in 19th after picking up nine points for his efforts but it’s a very early stages yet with just five legs completed.
Willem Greve (NED) emerged triumphant with a commanding ride in the jump-off on Pretty Woman van’t Paradijs NOP.
A fortnight of Major League Show Jumping action got under way at Desert International Horse Park in Thermal and it proved a good week for Cian O’Connor and Conor Swail.
Swail and Irish Sport Horse Clonterm Obolensky made the podium in the five-star Grand Prix Qualifier at the California venue on Thursday night.
Nine of the 38 contestants went clear over Alan Wade’s 1.55m course to make the jump-off for the $182,000 class and the calibre of competitor was right out of the top drawer.
Victory went to America’s McLain Ward and First Lady for the second year in a row, the duo setting a target of 36.01 without fault as the fourth combo in. It proved beyond the remaining competitors, the world’s top-ranked U25 pilot Nina Mallevaey (FRA) grabbing second with Dynastie de Beaufour, with Swail opting not to gun his Brian Duff-bred charge at the beginning of the week and sauntering to a comfortable second clear in 41.59 to make the podium.
It was a second bronze medal of the evening for the Darragh Cross native, having finished third with Theo 160 in a two-star speed class earlier on. That competition was won by Charlotte Jacobs (USA) with Rincoola Milsean (ISH), bred in Granard by the late Harold McGahern, and back in action after being sidelined for eight months with injury.
O’Connor and the exciting Pegasus bagged a pair of bronze medal results on Friday and Saturday. Looking through the ears of Pegasus in the MLSJ 1.50m speed individual class, the Meath-based Kildare native was outstanding in search of the tenths and hundredths of seconds that would make a difference.
Pegasus answered every call, going clear in 72.98 seconds which was less than half a second shy of the mark set by Erynn Ballard (CAN), who was first into the ring with Her Game Ball BG and stopped the clock on 72.53. Gregory Wathelet slipped in between them when clocking 72.82 with Argentina De La Marchette.
In the team phase afterwards, Michael Duffy and Be Sky Hawk maintained their recent good form with a quick clear round.
O’Connor and Pegasus returned to the fray on Saturday night and secured third in the 1.50m Winning Round class, the eight-year-old gelding remaining fresh and enthusiastic despite his previous exertions and youth to post another brilliant double clear, and a tiebreak time of 33.92.
The overall honours went to Wathelet and the trusty Argentina De la Marchette, who registered an unbeatable 33.22, with Arturo Parada Vallejo (MEX) garnering the silver medal on Bordeaux.
O’Connor recorded another double clear in the $750,000 1.60m Coachella Cup with Kentucky Tn, which was enough for sixth place in the lucrative Grand Prix won by 60-year-old marvel Laura Kraut (USA) with Bisquetta.
Two Irish athletes made the podium in the three-star Grand Prix as the first week of the December Series at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala came to a conclusion.
Ten of the 41 combinations returned to take on the short course and it was Paul O’Shea, from Kildimo, who set the early pace with a second clear in 35.20 seconds on the 17-year-old Imerald Vant Voorhof (above).
Tralee native, Dylan Daly improved upon that though, guiding Cinderella Z (below) to a fantastic blemish-free trip and snipping eight hundredths of a second off the lead time.
That survived four more challenges before the penultimate competitor, Ilan Bluman (COL) entered the arena with Acajou and they were electrifyingly quick, topping the clock in 34.85 and clear to claim the honours.
On Friday morning, Jonathan Corrigan made it into the top five in the Grand Prix Qualifier. There were six double clears and while victory went to Kristen Vanderveen (USA) with Bull Run’s Jireh, Corrigan, the Wellington-based Meath athlete, and Darius De Kerglenn were quick enough to secure a competitive ribbon.
Harry Allen narrowly missed out on victory in the two-star Grand Prix Qualifier in Peelbergen on Thursday, the Wexford athlete and Lukaku Vd Bisschop grabbing third, just 0.21 seconds shy of the winning jump-off clear of 38.92 posted by Olivier Philippaerts (BELG) with Dixie Moon.
BREEDING
HHS ORCHIDEE (ISH) – 2016 br mare by Le Roi (ZfdP) out of HHS Tiffany (ISH) by Luidam (KWPN). Breeder: Miguel Bravo. Owner: Bravo Hughes Ltd, Molly Hughes Bravo. Rider: Michael Pender (IRL)
CLONTERM OBOLENSKY (ISH) – 2016 stallion by Cornet Obolensky (BWP) out of She Has The Lux (ISH) by Lux Z (HANN). Breeder: Brian Duff, Ashbourne, Co. Meath. Owner: Oliver Raymond Glancy. Rider: Conor Swail (IRL).
RINCOOLA MILSEAN (ISH) – 2013 gelding by Aldatus Z (OLD) out of Rincoola Abu (ISH)[TIH] by Cruising (ISH)[TIH]. Breeder: Harold McGahern, Granard, Co Longford. Owner: North Star. Rider: Charlotte Jacobs (USA).
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