JUST five weeks away from hosting the first of two scheduled international fixtures, the Dulohery family at Kilguilkey staged their seasonal opener last Sunday.

The venue was in top order, and with Millstreet looming on the horizon next weekend, the event attracted bumper entries across the 19 classes on offer. It was heartening to see these numbers and most encouraging but, with multiple riders unavoidably delaying the proceedings in the major classes, it was a long day for all, as the final rider crossed the line just after 8pm.

Long day aside, it was also a very good one. The immense work that Danny Dulohery has put into the ground and the tracks over the winter has really paid off, as the fences were beautifully built and presented, while the ground conditions - in all areas, verged on perfect.

One big upgrade during the closed season, has been the addition of sand into the grass show jumping area. According to Dulohery some 250 tonnes of sand was worked into the ground last autumn, both in the arena itself and the warm-up areas. Sunday’s cross-country tracks were impressively presented, and although up to height, they were not over long and proved largely straightforward.

“With the internationals coming up, I decided to give them a good run, with big fences over the minimum distance,” commented Dulohery.

“I’m really pleased with the large entry and of course have to thank to all the volunteers who help to make it happen. Eventing in Ireland seems to be in a good place.”

EI120 class

An unplanned trip to notch up a late qualification ultimately proved fortuitous for Declan Cullen, who riding the Luhmuhlen-bound Seavaghan Ash landed top spot in a competitive EI 120. One of only a handful of advanced classes in the country, the sector attracted 16 runners, with Cullen producing a double clear and rising from an opening second spot.

“It was not in our original plan to come here, but we had our hand forced by the FEI who, having changed the MERS criteria, insisted we needed another advanced run before Luhmuhlen,” explained Cullen. “The sport has fallen to red tape. When you only have one or two horses, they are very precious, but we are now asked to run them more to keep them qualified. I appreciate the sport has to evolve and change, but it’s not always for the better and certainly doesn’t encourage the amateur sportsman. That said, the track here was ideal for me today, the ground was perfect and we got what we needed.”

Just as she had done at Hillcrest the previous week, Trish Ryan took the early advantage with her stalwart The Caped Crusader. The pair also show jumped clear, but opting to take it handy in the country, Ryan added costly time faults, thus allowing Cullen to move into the top spot, followed by Ian Cassells aboard Frances Corkery’s Shanbo Super Flex and Joseph Murphy with the Kindred Spirit Syndicate’s Belline Fighting Spirit.

The former, who stepped up to the level this year now heads for the CCIO4*-NC-S at Millstreet. “I thought the open corner at the fourth was quite testing, especially with the undulations, but it’s good for horses to learn how to manage them,” said Cassells.

The continentally-bred Belline Fighting Spirit, who Richard Ames sourced as a three-year-old, is also entered for the Millstreet class.

The cross-country proved straightforward for these largely experienced campaigners, although the aforementioned corner at the fourth accounted for a couple of isolated penalties and saw Luca Stubington unfortunately part company with Kiltown Watson.