WHAT a weekend Irish riders had at week 10 of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, sponsored by Horseware Ireland, as they not only claimed a hat-trick in the five-, six- and seven-year-old classes, but also took the Under 25 Grand Prix Series title for good measure.

Friday saw 18-year-old Daniel Kerins on the home-bred Lisonas Gold (ISH) win the $10,000 Five-Year-Old Jumper Final.

The Kerins family bred the Stakkato Gold son out of their own Lisona (ISH), a mare Darragh Kerins rode at five-star Nations Cup level for Ireland, before U.S. athlete Jessica Springsteen got the ride.

The five-year-old jumped double clear in a jump-off time of 36.409 seconds to take the win from a start list of 20.

“He was bred by my Dad and Maarten Huygens in Ireland, where my uncle Richard produced him up until his four-year-old year,” said Daniel. “Around early December last year, we brought him over here, and ever since we gave him his first jump, it was just unreal how similar he was to his mother; the carefulness and the way that he was so mature and carried himself. I don’t ride too many young horses, but he’s definitely one of the best ones I’ve ever ridden.”

Daniel Kerins and Lisonas Gold (ISH) won the $10,000 Five-Year-Old Jumper Final at Wellington \ Sportfot

The Six-year-old Young Jumper division saw the top 25 qualifying horses take to the International Arena to compete for standings in the $15,000 Final.

Sligo’s Kevin Gallagher rode Ninja BF, a Canadian-bred Dutch Warmblood gelding by Chacoon Blue, owned by Richard Kirby, double clear in a jump-off time of 40.724 seconds to claim victory.

“The horse has been so consistent all season, so it’s brilliant that he took the win today,” said Gallagher. Kirby bought the horse at a young age from his breeder and gave the ride to his friend, Gallagher.

“This was the plan from the start of the season,” said Gallagher. “We looked at a lot of the Wednesday classes to try and save the horse. Many of the weeks, he only jumped on Wednesday to get qualified for this. This was the main goal, so it’s brilliant to get it done.”

Mayo’s Cormac Hanley finished third on Santiago VH Netehof (41.355).

Kevin Gallagher and Ninja BF won the $15,000 Six-Year-Old Jumper Final at Wellington \ Sportfot

Seven-year-old

There were still more Irish successes in the $25,000 Seven-Year-Old Developing Jumper Series Final, where Clare’s Philip McGuane and My Lady Van De Krekel, owned by Evergate Stables, won the class.

“She’s super careful, not very big but she has a lot of qualities,” said McGuane of the mare, following their win. “Harrie Smolders tried her and really liked her, so we only saw the videos and ended up buying her. She came over to us in August of last year.

“Series’ like this are super important,” he said. “It’s very good money, competitive, had good courses, and nice rings.”

Senan Hayes and Rubens placed fourth in the class, when one of just five double clear rounds.

Philip McGuane and My Lady van de Krekel won the $25,000 Seven-Year-Old Developing Jumper Series Final at Wellington \ Sportfot

Under 25

Competitions concluded in the International Arena, with the highly anticipated $50,000 Under 25 Grand Prix Series Final on Sunday. There were only two fault-free efforts in the first round, with American riders, Baylee McKeever and Carlee McCutcheon, taking first and second places respectively.

Francis Derwin’s top-10 finish with Elien was enough to keep his lead in the series standings and take the overall title. Tom Wachman and Obora’s Laura placed sixth on the day, which moved him from fifth onto the podium in third overall.

Derwin said of his season: “It makes it easier to do well when you have an incredible horse. I started riding Elien when I arrived here [from Ireland] in November. She was clear in all the Grand Prix except for an unlucky rail today.

“This is my third year in the Under 25 [division] and the competition is very good here. This is up there with some of the best wins of my career,” he concluded.

Ribbons

Wednesday saw a joint win in the Five-year-old Young Jumper class for Daniel Kerins on Lisonas Gold and Senan Hayes on Truly, while Cormac Hanley on Santiago VH Netehof won the day’s Six-year-old class, followed by Kevin Gallagher on Ninja BF in third; Philip McGuane on My Lady Van De Krekel were runners-up in the Seven-year-old class.

Shane Sweetnam and Irandole Du Flot won Thursday’s $6,000 1.40m class, while Friday’s $32,000 1.50m class saw a second place finish for Michael Duffy and RMF Cinnamo. Tom Wachman steered Lazarro Delle Schiave into third place in the $62,500 1.50m Jumper Classic.