BEFORE they headed off to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Sam Watson and David Bogossian’s Tullabeg Flamenco had their final start in Ireland at the international at Kilguilkey House, where they withdrew, as planned, following the dressage phase of the CCI3*-S.

Last weekend, when some of his erstwhile rivals were back competing at the Co Cork venue, Tullabeg Flamenco was at Punchestown, where he made his debut at the Conlan Defender/Irish Pony Club National Tetrathlon Championships in the capable hands of 17-year-old Ben Buckley.

Carrying the No 1 bib and recording one of 13 clear cross-country rounds from 30 individual starters in the Senior Boys’ championship, Ben and Tullabeg Flamenco were members of the Limerick Legends quartet, who finished third in the team competition and, importantly, won the award as the highest-placed Branch team.

Ben was kindly offered the ride on Tullabeg Flamenco earlier in the spring by Ellie Kennedy and started riding the now 15-year-old dun Irish Sport Horse gelding at the start of April. In addition to Tetrathlon, they compete in Open classes in the Connolly’s Red Mills/Irish Pony Club eventing series.

Their target in that sphere is the National Eventing Championships, which take place over the weekend of August 24th and 25th at Tatteralls Ireland, where Sam and the Tullabeg Fusion gelding finished fourth of 17 in the George Mernagh Memorial CCI4*-S in 2019 and seventh of 43 in the CCI3* the previous year, when the competition was sponsored by The Irish Field.

Ben’s family decamped en masse to Punchestown for the weekend as his parents, Emma and Donnach, were present to assist him, his younger brother Harry (15), who was on the sixth-placed Limerick Tigers team with Whiskey, and their sister Martha (12) who, on board Perri (Deluxe Floyd Track Two), was a member of the second-placed Limerick Lionesses foursome in the Junior Girls’ competition. Martha and Perri were on the winning Limerick Lions team at the Overlander/IPC National Minimus Championshiips at Killossery Lodge Stud in June.

“Tullabeg Fusion just loves what he is doing now with Ben,” said Emma Buckley, who is the Co Limericks’ District Commissioner. “He is just the kindest, loveliest horse we’ve ever had in the yard. He is a total gent at home, where even Martha could ride him, but he knows when he has arrived at a competition and is all business.”

The Buckleys are very much a hunting family, as Donnach’s father Michael, for whom Whiskey was originally purchased, hunted the Limerick Harriers for 33 seasons.