THE 2017 Stepping Stones to Success League concluded at Wexford Equestrian on Wednesday with no surprise winners in the league but two minor upsets on the day.

Rider Louise Codd wasn’t at all shocked when Ger Burke’s mare CFS Olympic Lucy, on a score of 216.5, won the Botanica International four-year-old class ahead of the league winner, Ballyvillane OBOS (214.5), and the consistent Ultan (212.5).

“Everything just came together on the day,” commented the locally-based producer. “This is a big mare with plenty of power who put her best foot forward in the final round. She jumped like a dream (achieving the top score of 142.5) and it has just taken her time to organise all that power. She was magic!

“Like all of Ger’s horses, she would be for sale but, that could be now or at the Goresbridge sale of event horses in May, or Ger may like to get to Dublin first. Ian Fearon (series judge for the Stepping Stones League) said she had improved a lot since the first day and I can tell you it’s amazing to ride a mare like this who is a pleasure to deal with in everything she does.”

Joint-winner when the series started at the end of last month with Castlehoward Romeo, who was sixth (202.5) on Wednesday, CFS Olympic Lucy is by the Dutch Warmblood stallion Lancelot whose daughter Ballykelly Notalot won the four-year-old League here last year. Wednesday’s winner was bred in Co Galway by Patrick Connolly and gets her grey colouring from her dam, the Cruising mare CSF Olympic Cruise whose previous produce include the good show jumping mares CSF Valerie (by Ars Vivendi) and CSF OIympic Lady (by Luidam).

On 24 points, CFS Olympic Lucy finished second in the league, five points ahead of Daisy Duggan’s Ustinov gelding Ultan and four adrift of Ballyvillane OBOS. That chesnut gelding by OBOS Quality 004, who won three legs of the series, was bred in Co Tipperary by Tom Gleeson out of the Young Convinced mare Gleesons Coolcorran.

Ballyvillane OBOS was ridden for owner Richard Ames of Belline Equestrian by Dan Alderson who was joint-winner of the Under 25 bursary award with pony rider Jennifer Kuehnle. The pair were interviewed by Fearon and dressage judge Anne Marie Dunphy and it was decided that both were deserving of a week’s training in England with J.P. Sheffield.

The two riders will also have their names engraved on the shield presented by Eventing Ireland president Jessica Harrington. She, of course, was otherwise engaged on Wednesday when, during an excellent closing week to a superb National Hunt season for the Moone trainer, she saddled Sizing John to win the Grade 1 Coral Punchestown Gold Cup under Robert Power.

There was a ‘Sizing’ success at Wexford Equestrian too on finals’ day when the Clare Lambert-ridden Sizing Alberta won the Irish Horse Welfare Trust Thoroughbred Club class and League. This was a fourth success in the series (he had one day off) for the French-bred gelding whose owner, John Bannon, hopes to be back in the saddle shortly.

Sizing Alberta, who is out of a Montjeu mare, carried the Potts colours to victory in a maiden hurdle at Roscommon last year when trained by the since retired Colm Murphy.

Another grey, the seven-year-old Lord du Sud gelding was awarded 60.5 points for his dressage phase by Dunphy who said she was “blown away” by his work on the flat and by that of the second-placed thoroughbred, Sarah Ennis’s Scorpion gelding Tell Em Nothin (59). Lambert’s dressage score, the highest on the day, saw her win an overnight stay for two in the Artramon Guesthouse in Castlebridge.

Benny Walsh sandwiched a day at Wexford Equestrian between two late afternoon sessions at Punchestown – where he had very mixed luck in the cross-country races – and while only fourth in the class with Goffs Island, he finished second in the league with Peter O’Leary’s 10-year-old Heron Island gelding.