THIS year’s Dublin Horse Show was filled with highs and lows. The highs were provided by Irish riders claiming nine of the 11 international classes on offer.

The lows came on Friday and Sunday when Team Ireland had to watch the Aga Khan trophy slip from their grasp once more – going to team USA – only to be followed, two days later, by the Longines Grand Prix Trophy, which was won by Swiss rider Werner Muff.

The week began well. Greg Broderick opened proceedings with a win in Wednesday’s Speed Stakes. Riding the Dutch stallion Zuidam (Guidam x Indoctro), the Irish Olympian proved best of the large field of 74 starters, stopping the clock at 58.94 to secure the win.

Second place went to America’s Lillie Keenan and Be Gentle in 59.68. This was the 20-year-old Harvard student’s first visit to the Dublin Horse Show. She is trained by Cian O’Connor and, in recent years, has invested in an impressive string of horses, including her Nations Cup mount Super Sox and most recently the impressive grey gelding Fibonacci, ridden at the Rio Olympic Games by Germany’s Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum. She is just beginning to make her mark at five-star level and her trip to Dublin certainly proved well worth the journey.

Wednesday afternoon’s Sport Ireland Classic, worth €24,600, saw the tough competition begin. A first round field of 71 was reduced to just 16 for the timed decider.

Just six of the 16 riders that attempted the jump-off managed to keep a clean sheet over Tom Holden’s track. It was Ireland’s Shane Breen that would prove fastest of these to claim the top prize.

Riding the nine-year-old Belgian-bred stallion Ipswich van de Wolfsakker (Carembar De Muze x Quick Star) the Tipperary native was last to go and broke the finish beam in 41.83. Closest to Breen was Bertram Allen riding Izzy by Picobello, a nine-year-old gelding by Cicero Z; they stopped the clock at 41.92 to take the runner-up spot.

Rounding off the Irish trio were Anthony Condon and the Dutch-bred Balzac who recorded a time of 42.13 to occupy third place.

Thursday morning’s Speed Derby, sponsored by The Clayton Hotel, proved that Greg Broderick was determined to make his presence felt at this year’s show.

Riding Zuidam once again, the Ballypatrick rider claimed the top spot by a margin of over two seconds from the runner-up, Cork’s Billy Twomey.

Twomey set the target with a clear round in a fast time of 82.64 when eighth to go with Joe Flynn’s 13-year-old Irish-bred stallion Ardcolum Duke (Gypsy Duke x Clover Hill).

This is a spot they held on to until 20 horses later when Broderick and Zuidam entered the ring and posted the winning time of 80.60 to collect €8,000.

After the class Broderick said: “I only really started riding Zuidam recently and I haven’t really ridden him that much.

“Up to now he has been ridden by one of our students and Ballypatrick’s Darragh Ryan and before that Daniel Coyle had great success on him.

“I’m absolutely delighted with how he went today, and with his win yesterday. It’s been hard trying to rebuild my string after the sale of my top horse MHS Going Global last year, so to able to come back here to Dublin, which is where I had my dream – I think ever Irish rider’s dream of riding on an Aga Khan team – come true, so to be back winning in the main arena feels fantastic,” Broderick added.

Once again, completing another Irish top three were Hickstead-based Irish rider Shane Breen and Can Ya Makan who slotted into third place in 83.81.

Broderick was named leading Irish rider and International rider on Sunday.

“I’m over the moon to get this prize. Dublin means the world to all the Irish riders,” he said at the presentation.

“Two of the horses (Chinook and Charmeur) I was riding in the bigger classes are new horses to me, they performed really well and I found out a little bit more about them this week, which was good.”

Broderick’s final placing of the show came in the Speed championship on Sunday morning where he finished sixth with Charmeur.

Cian O’Connor won the class riding his previous day’s winning mount Copain du Perchet CH.

Twenty riders lined out for the one round 1.50m Table C speed. There was a slight delay when the second rider in Daniel Coyle and Simba de la Roque had a fall towards the end of the track at fence 11, an oxer in front of the riders stand next to the in gate.

The pair had been going really well until a tight right hand turn into number 11 went wrong. They met the oxer at a bad distance and the horse did his best to jump the fence but hit the poles and fell, dislodging and winding Coyle.

After a few moments on the ground Coyle was able to stand up and walked out of the arena, but Simba de la Roque took fright and as he ran up the length of the ring, got himself caught in her reins and appeared to be in some distress.

The horse ambulance was called and he was driven out of the ring directly to the UCD vet hospital where he was given a completely clear bill of health.

O’Connor, as 15th to go, was the first to leave all the fences intact as well as post a time over 65 seconds in 65.29.

The next two riders in, Billy Twomey (Ardcolum Duke) and Shane Breen (Can Ya Makan), both came closest in 65.34 and 67.77 respectively to occupy second and third.