LAST Sunday, the first of two scheduled event fixtures took place at the Furnell family’s popular venue at Crecora, Co Limerick.

An event which grows in stature on every running, the demand for the limited quota of places was so great the entries closed with half an hour of opening.

The necessary capping of the entries is obviously not ideal for the organisers, but that said they and riders are only too pleased to be able to run.

“Of course, you do need a certain amount to make it pay, but the biggest issue was getting the ground right,” commented Gerald Furnell.

“We have had an unprecedented dry spell, and not for the first time we are grateful to David Buston, who is the head groundsman at Limerick racecourse.

“David comes down to help us, and while its all well and good to have the machinery, you can’t buy the experience and the knowledge. It’s a matter of knowing the ground, what speed to go and what depth.”

These efforts were massively appreciated by the riders, and their praise was summed up by Fraser Duffy, winner of the EI 115. “The going was impeccable and with lots of grass cover,” he said.

“This is an event that gets better every time. Dominic (Furnell) is very thoughtful as a designer. He gives us plenty of questions, but at the same time he is aware we want them to be educational and confidence giving.”

Pillar to post

Concurring with Duffy was Alison Holden who, as the pillar-to-post winner of the EI115 (Open), cited the angled skinny hedges after the water as being quite a significant question. Whilst they needed controlled riding, they proved no problem for Holden who was partnering the experienced O My Balladeer.

With three four-star runs already under their belts, the Co Waterford pair are now heading for the long format at Millstreet. “He’s in flying form,” said Holden of the 14-year-old son of My O My. “I couldn’t be happier with him, he feels better than ever.”

With no margin for error, Holden had to complete on her opening score, and doing just that, she maintained a 0.2 advantage over Rodney O’Donnell with his own Hillcrest Horizon. The local duo were also foot perfect, and in dressage order, as only one of the leading contenders picked up penalties, third place fell to last year’s Ballindenisk international winners Brian Morrison and Global DHI.