Kürten era begins with podium

Chawke bags maiden five-star win on another massive week for Irish

Jessica Kürten’s reign as Horse Sport Ireland’s High Performance Jumping Manager got off to a very solid start with a podium finish in the four-star Nations Cup in Sharjah yesterday.

It came at the end of a week in which the depth chart of Irish show jumping was illustrated once more around the globe.

James Chawke won his first ever five-star class, having served a long apprenticeship in America, while there were major four-star Grands Prix successes for Olympic teammates Shane Sweetnam and Daniel Coyle, with Coyle completing a GP double with the two-star version as well.

There were other two-star victories also for Michael Duffy and Conor Swail.

Kürten (above) mixed experience with youth when selecting her team, with the Breen brothers from Tipperary, Trevor and Shane, being joined by David Simpson and Mikey Pender.

Simpson did a solid job as pathfinder, the Derry rider posting two rounds of four faults each on board Billy Fern.

Trevor Breen and Kannoon Blue followed with a similar return in the first round but two splendid clears by Castledermot athlete Pender and the Miguel Bravo-bred Irish Sport Horse HHS Orchidee, and Shane Breen with BP Arctic Blue placed Kürten’s crew in the silver medal position at the half-way behind..

David Will’s Germany, who were faultless, held the lead and double clears by the chef d’equipe, with Xixo Borgia, and Sophie Hinners, with Lommers, ensured that they would retain their position at the top when the dust had cleared.

There were no clear rounds for the Irish, however, with Simpson and Shane Breen doing best with one rail each down, and Pender’s eight faults also counting as Trevor Breen and Kannoon Blue recorded the discard score of 13.

Those 16 faults left Ireland with a total of 20, and they dropped down a position as a result, with the UAE finishing second.

The new boss was very pleased with the opening result of her stewardship.

“It was a great podium finish today from a team of young horses and great riders,” said the Antrim woman. “It was a good opportunity to give these horses some exposure and experience at this level, looking towards the future.”

They say you never forget your first time and James Chawke will certainly feel that way about last Wednesday night, when he secured his maiden five-star international victory at Desert International Horse Park in Thermal (above and feature pic).

The Portlaoise native has enjoyed plenty of success in the last two years in bringing Daido van’t Ruytershof Z through the ranks and it was fitting that they combined to score in the 1.45m speed class at the California venue.

Irish duo, Alan Wade and Colm Quinn set the course in the Grand Prix Stadium and Chawke was able to elicit the quickest clear by some distance with the pacy 12-year-old mare owned by Jan Van Alken, the time of 61.78 seconds seeing off next best Tiffany Foster (CAN) and Battlecry, who stopped the clock in 63.43.

“I’m really happy,” said Chawke of his inaugural victory. “I thought the track was very good. Alan always builds a good course. I actually didn’t think it was so easy; all the lines were a bit the same in that everyone kind of had to do the same number. So, it was just trying to be quick around the turns.”

Quick proved no problem for Chawke and the Zangersheide mare.

“She’s a really quick horse. She’s very careful and very game. She’s spicy for sure. She has her own opinions, but she’s very sweet.”

America was certainly a happy hunting ground for the Green Jackets over the week and Shane Sweetnam headed an Irish 1-2 in the feature of Week 4 of Wellington International’s Winter Equestrian Festival when steering Coriaan van Klapscheut Z to victory in the $215,000 MARS Equestrian Grand Prix (above).

Six qualified for the jump-off and all bar one were clear again next time around, so the margins had to be found in terms of tight turns, stride decisions and galloping where possible.

And it was Castlemagner man Sweetnam and his 10-year-old that had all the answers, stopping the clock on 41.40. Enniscorthy’s Bertram Allen, who registered two four-star triumphs the previous week, was the best of the rest with Qonquest de Rigo, going clear in 41.95.

“I thought it would take more time [to get to this level], but I didn’t have many horses when he stepped up to FEI last year,” said Sweetnam, who has had the ride on the gelding he owns together with Voquest, LLC, since the middle of 2024.

“His first week here last year, he’d never done an FEI class and was second in the WEF [Challenge Cup]. He took to it like a duck to water and was very competitive from the start—even though he was green. He really wants to leave the jumps up.

“We’ve been second a lot, which was my year last year, so it’s nice to have him put me up one spot and get the win!”

Just a few hours later, on Sunday morning Irish time in Ocala, it was Daniel Coyle winning the $200,000 Gary Yeomans Ford Grand Prix from a world-class field, with a horse at the opposite end of the experience spectrum, 16-year-old Farrel (below).

The Lazarus of the show jumping world, having made a spectacular comeback two years ago after two years retired through injury, the diminutive 16-year-old owned by Ariel Grange retains the hunger, scope and speed of his youth, besting eight other combinations in the tiebreaker.

The Lothlorien Farm favourite and his Ardmore-born pilot posted a time of 39.24 and that was enough to see off Jessica Mendoza (GBR) and In The Air by just under half a second.

“This year I’ve been very fast but have had a fence down,” Coyle detailed afterwards, giving a glimpse to his insight before heading down the ramp the second time.

“I could be two or three seconds faster, but with a fence down. So I decided to go a little slower and be second or third. So I went in with that in mind, but that also doesn’t always work, sometimes we kinda just go,” he laughed.

“The jump-off was quite straightforward. One to two, there were no real numbers. Then the double. When I walked, it was five strides across the centre, and I didn’t think I was going to do that, but we did it, and that’s where I got an extra half a second on everybody, and he’s very good at turning no matter what the speed is.

“We’ve had Farrel since he just turned seven. He’s been amazing. He’s my most successful horse ever on paper, which a lot of people don’t know. In the last 10 years of my career, he’s won the most. From ranking classes to national Grands Prix, Nations Cups, he’s been my most successful horse ever. Everybody’s getting a bit older, including him, and I really wanted to win tonight, just for Farrel.”

It was the second four-star victory of the week for Ireland at the World Equestrian Center, as Tom Wachman and Do It Easy followed up their London Grand Prix win before Christmas by emerging triumphant from the Grand Prix Qualifier (below).

Eight combinations made the jump-off, including Michael Duffy and Be Sky Hawk, who were very quick but had four faults. Do It Easy and his Goolds Cross pilot were the penultimate pair into the arena and they came home strongly in the latter part of the course to prevail.

“I watched one or two on the screen, but I made a good plan with Cian O’Connor and Ross Mulholland,” said Wachman.

“I wanted to do seven from one to two in the jump-off, but I did eight, so I was a little slow, and then did 11 strides to the double. Some were doing 10, but it was very hard to jump it on 10. Then nine to the plank, seven back, and seven to the second-to-last, and that’s where I think I had it.

“He’s an amazing horse. He’s so rideable and so brave. He won the Grand Prix in London a couple of weeks ago, so he’s been jumping in super form. He’s 13, and I’ve been riding him for quite a while now. My brother Max rode him, and Cian rode him as well. He was very well produced in Stephex Stables with Kendra Claricia Brinkop. He really is such a kind horse, and he’s so fun to work with, and he wants to win.”

Earlier in the day at the Florida arena, Coyle had been runner-up in a two-star speed class with Urville Z, which was won by Irish Sport Horse Rincoola Milsean, bred by the late Harold McGahern in Longford, and ridden by Charlotte Jacobs (USA).

Coyle and Urville also had to settle for the bridesmaid role again 24 hours later, when Duffy and Mister Qerly Z edged them out in a thrilling conclusion to the two-star Grand Prix Qualifier.

It was Coyle that held the lead with a clear in 35.58 that looked difficult to trump. It was very difficult, as it turned out, but not impossible, as Duffy and his 10-year-old somehow found one-hundredth of a second (below).

“I think you can only go as fast as your horse can go,” the Turloughmore athlete reasoned. “That’s the key to a jump-off.

“He’s very good on the right [turn], and he’s a little green on the left turn. So, I stayed a bit wide on the left turn from three to four, but then I’d say I probably had two less strides on the right turn.”

Meanwhile, Conor Swail was a two-star speed winner back at Desert International Horse Park the same evening, partnering Mannon Farm’s ultra-reliable and consistent, Theo 160 (below) to blitz the field with a clear in 63.19 seconds, 2.79 seconds clear of runner-up Michelle Berry (USA) and Thank You RS.

“I thought today Alan built a bit of a tougher track,” said the Darragh Cross native, who would go on to be fourth in the five-star Longines FEI Jumping World Cup, jumping a double clear with Casturano.

“All your sort of turns and rollbacks made it so that the horses saw the jumps a little late,” Swail declared. “It just made it a little more difficult for the horse to catch the jump and jump it correctly and do everything smoothly.

“Myself and Theo have had a great partnership together for many years now. So, those type of tracks are not maybe as much of a challenge for us because he’s a bit older, and I’m a bit older and wiser. It’s maybe a little less challenging as opposed to a more green horse.

“He’s always been a wonderful horse for me. He has jumped five-star grands prix when he shouldn’t be, but he does because I asked him to do so. He’s a wonderful little guy. Now I try and aim him at sort of the 1.45m and some 1.50m. You can see he’s still very competitive and great at it. He owes me nothing. He’s been such a great horse for me, it’s great for him to have another win under his belt.”

Urville Z finally entered the winner’s enclosure, to complete an excellent week for horse and rider, especially given they are a new pairing, helping Coyle complete the Grand Prix double in the two-star version on Sunday night, clocking a clear in 42.77 to secure the honours (below).

“Back to the wall was the one place I knew I could turn back, and if I had a good stride she could take it,” Coyle explained. “Vaclav (Stanek) had a great round with his horse (Langley), and I got to watch the last few jumps, and his turn back to the wall looked pretty fast.

“I’ve been second quite a lot recently, so I decided to let her go, and there’s no better horse to do that with. She’s a real fighter, and whatever I put her to, she gives it to me.

“Last week was my first time showing her. I got her right before Christmas. Last week she jumped the national, and won the Futures Prix. The rider didn’t help much. I was struggling last week and didn’t really know how to ride her, and she still won,.

“I am really excited for her. Already, in her first class, she won, in her second class, she was second, and in her third class, which was a ranking class, she was second, and today was my fourth class with her, and she also won. So, she’s had a first, two seconds, and a first in her first four classes. I haven’t done that before, so that’s pretty good.”

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)

RINCOOLA MILSEAN (ISH) – 2013 gelding by Aldatus Z (OLD) out of Rincoola Abu (ISH)[TIH] by Cruising (ISH)[TIH]. Breeder: Harold McGahern, Co Longford. Owner: North Star. Rider: Charlotte Jacobs (USA).

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