Margie McLoone
GILFORD’s Steven Smith has been having a quiet season by his standards but finished in the top four on three of his four rides on Saturday, winning the open novice with My Ballymac Bay.
The nine-year-old Out Of Touch gelding, who was bred by former international rider Ross Crawford, surprisingly had a fence down show jumping but held on to score by nearly five points from Major Furisto who completed on his first phase mark of 33.3 under Ailbhe McGrath.
It was a good day for the Smith yard with Steven’s daughter Hollie and Gucci III placing second (31.5) in the EI100P class to the runaway winners, Charlotte Harding and Winterfold Ivy (17), while his brother Trevor finished second and first respectively on The Maestro II and Juniper Hill in the open sections at this level.
We’re not sure if sponsorship from Tredstep has been behind Trevor’s improvement in dressage but he says that the new circular gallop installed at Ballymac Stables has made a huge difference to the horses.
“You can see how fit the horses are!” insisted Smith. “It has a sand and fibre surface and the horses seem to love it.”
In Section A of the EI 100, Smith’s mount The Maestro II finished on the same score (22.3) as the winner, Gerry Leahy’s Millridge Adonis, a catch ride for Joseph Murphy.
The six-year-old gelding, who is by the Brazilian thoroughbred Match Point, almost didn’t make it to Tyrella on Saturday as the box he was travelling in broke down but he was picked up off the road by Michael McNally. Murphy only had 10 minutes to get to know the horse before entering the dressage arena but very much appreciated Dora Beacom’s efforts to fit them in.
A winner at Lisgarvan (1) where he was partnered by Shane Power, the chesnut was bred in Co Meath by Caroline Preston out of her Cream Of Diamonds eventing mare Lucy Forever.
Sarah Ennis had to settle for second place in Section B with Duke Of Chester (22) as Trevor Smith recorded a narrow victory on the Gina Johnson-bred mare Juniper Hill, a six-year-old by the Holstein Charming Boy out of another mare who evented, Sheepcote Solitude.
Wicklow-based Katie O’Sullivan had a day of placings with the Cooley Farm horses and, on board the Master Imp gelding Categorically Cooley (26.8), was narrowly beaten into second in the CNC* class by Meghan Healy who completed on her winning dressage score of 26 with Treviler Desdemona.
This was a first EI success for the Monaghan rider with her British Warmblood mare who is by the palomino Grand Prix dressage stallion Treviler Decanter out of the Olderburg Omirella.
The eight-year-old was bred at her Trevlier Stud in Bedfordshire by Gill Clothier who also bred and stands the sire and once stood the Irish Draught stallion Kensons Aragorn.
Most cross-country problems in this class came at fence three, the Old Water to Birch Skinny, while a couple of riders were eliminated for jumping the wrong fence nine.
Charlotte Dixon and her mother Barbara’s Swedish Warmblood gelding Fernando, who wasn’t entirely at home on the heavy ground at Boden Park, returned to winning ways at Tyrella where they had also been victorious late last month.
The Ballymena combination completed on their winning dressage score of 30.3 in the Tredstep Ireland CNCJ1* ahead of the Tyrella (3) winners, Adam Haugh and Jantar (34).
On their flat work mark of 38, Izzy Riley and Monarch Of The Glen landed the CNCP** ahead of the dressage winners, Jessica Kuehnle and Lightning (33.3) who picked up 8.8 cross-country time penalties.
Selma Hammarstrom failed to negotiate fence three here with Sligo Fortunus but the Swedish rider bounced back to win the EI 100J class on her first phase score of 23.5 with the eight-year-old Kings Master mare Gortglas Eclipse.
Christine McNally, who led the 18-runner class after dressage (21.3) had to settle for second when the Porsch mare Boltown Herema had a fence down show jumping.
The EI 90 class, in which there were 26 starters, went the way of Kilmeague’s Marie Creighton and the eight-year-old Ariella, a daughter of Contract, while Noah Brown of Dromara recorded his first EI success when landing the 16-runner EI90P with his mother Maureen’s Jimmy Thunderstruck.