FIVE of the top six finishers in the Foran Equine CCI2*-S completed on their dressage scores; Co Meath’s Elizabeth Power heading the final leaderboard with the Irish Sport Horse gelding Balladeer Clintender (31.3 penalties), on whom she had been lying fourth after phase one.

The combination moved up to second with a first-to-jump clear show jumping round on Saturday and were left at the head of affairs on Sunday, when the day two leaders on 30.5, Australia’s Isabel English and the ISH gelding Jockeyhall Maximum Cruise, pathfinders on the cross-country course, picked up 20 jumping penalties and 8.4 for time, following a run-out at the second element of fence nine.

Bred in Co Roscommon by Tomas Hester, Balladeer Clintender is one of just eight horses registered on CapallOir by the ISH stallion Kah Clintender (by Clinton) and is the youngest of five similarly-registered foals out of Lady Of Lanarkshire (by Cut The Mustard).

The now eight-year-old was campaigned with British Eventing in 2022 by Vicky Tuffs, but had been moved to Andrew Williams and John Tilley of Kilkenny International Sporthorses when Power and joint-owner Ivan Hatton, the Irish Pony Club’s head of eventing, purchased the bay last November.

“He is a beautiful horse but quite sharp,” said Power of the winner. “He’s still very green, but I’m amazed how far he has come on in such a short time. I believe in horses learning on the job, so I’d be happy to move him up – he has been jumping 1.20s in Cavan. He would have learned a lot at Millstreet.

“Ivan loves eventing. I sold a horse of his to the States some years back and we have been looking for a while for a good one to buy together.

“This fellow has serious potential; now he just has to stay right and things have to go right.”

Belline Equestrian rider Caitie Slater, who was the early leader with the ISH gelding Derena Super Star, finished second on 31.9 as Richard Ames’s 11-year-old Womanizer grey picked up four expensive show jumping penalties on Saturday. Curragh-based Cathal Daniels was third on Hans Kuehnle’s home-bred ISH mare Tullibards Bennys Optima (32.3), on whom he won an EI100 at Tyrella in April.

One combination retired across the country, where another was eliminated and one didn’t start the phase.

In show jumping, there were two automatic eliminations for too many faults, one elimination and one retirement.