FORMER British international Georgie Goss recorded her first success for Ireland last week at Ballindenisk where, on her dressage score, she landed the Cameron Kiernan Landscaping CCI3*-L with the Dutch Warmblood gelding Kojak.

For good measure, the 35-year-old who announced her change of nationality on St Patrick’s Day, also finished third in the CCI4*-L on the KWPN-registered mare Feloupe while she withdrew the Irish Sport Horse gelding Sligo Just Touch before the cross-country phase of the CCI3*-S on a wet and windy Sunday.

“He’s proven himself on deep ground before so didn’t need to run on it again,” said Goss of the Sligo Candy Boy bay with whom she has been selected for the CCI3*-L for seven-year-olds at Le Lion d’Angers next month.

“He’s the only Irish-bred horse I’m competing at a higher level at the moment but I do have a couple of youngsters at home.”

Just 15 combinations came before the CCI3*-L ground jury of Germany’s Joachim Dimmek (C) and Australia’s Carolyn James (E) who had Goss and Kojak (30.2 penalties) lying third behind the British pair of Nicole Mills on Joolz (29) and Sam Ecroyd riding the ISH gelding Chapel House (29.9). Mills lost her hold on the lead on cross-country Saturday as she picked up 20.4 time penalties on Joolz as Ecroyd and Goss both went clear.

Irish blood

Four combinations failed to complete, three of these retiring while Ireland’s Casey Webb and Cecil Bready frustratingly parted company at the very last fence (22). Five of the 11 who took on Tony Hurley’s show jumping track on Sunday were clear within the time. That quintet included Goss and Kojak, who thus completed on their dressage score (30.2), but not Ecroyd and the nine-year-old Sibon W gelding Chapel House who had one fence down to finish second on 33.9.

“I couldn’t have been more pleased,” said Goss who owns a leg of the tall, striking Namelus R gelding along with Molly Fisher and Lucy Fleming, who were at the Co Cork event, and the absent Sam Wilson. “Molly and Sam both have Irish blood as well,” said Goss (née Spence) whose late paternal grandfather was born in this country.

“This was my first time to compete at Ballindenisk; I really, really enjoyed it and will definitely be back again. The weather on Thursday and Friday was great and it wasn’t too bad on Saturday when I thought the ground on the cross-country course was amazing. Ireland has been a lucky place for me as I won a Junior team silver at Necarne in 2006 and, a lot more recently, a CCI3* at Millstreet in 2018. Now that I’ve got off the mark for Ireland I’m going into next year with all guns blazing!”

Among Goss’ travelling support team at Ballindenisk were her husband Toby and the couple’s son Archie. Given that the latter is just five months old, there was no trip to the restaurant on Saturday evening but the family watched ‘the match’ on TV in their lorry where Archie could play with his own mini rugby ball.