THE Irish Sport Horse Studbook won the breed competition at Le Lion d’Angers last weekend but a pole down show jumping cost Caroline Bjoerk’s home-bred DSL The Entertainer a bronze medal in the CCI1* class for six-year-olds.

Joint third after dressage, on 41 penalties, Meath’s Elizabeth Power had given the Omar gelding a brilliant, calculated ride across the country on Saturday, bringing the tall dark bay through the finish bang on the time allowed of 8’56”.

This moved the Irish combination ahead of their British rivals, Sarah Bullimore with the Oldenburg gelding Corouet, who had earlier gone a second faster over a very straightforward course. The cross-country phase had little effect otherwise on the result with the remainder of the top 12 maintaining their positions.

Britain’s Izzy Taylor continued to lead the 47-runner class with the Hannovarian gelding Monkeying Around (37.60), ahead of Australia’s Paul Tapner on the Irish-born but Deutches Sportpferd-registered Bob Chaplin (38.1).

Only four combinations had a problem in jumping while just seven of the 41 finishers failed to make the time. The USA’s Liz Halliday-Sharp picked up 11 penalties for breaking the sole frangible pin on the course at the first element of the water at 15 with the ISH gelding Cooley Quicksilver (by Womanizer).

Sadly, New Zealand’s Dan Jocelyn never even got to the cross-country start as he was knocked out following a very heavy fall at one of the practice fences with the ISH gelding Lissyegan Rory (by Lux Z). The action on course had to be held while Jocelyn was attended to by the medical personnel after which he was transported to hospital by ambulance. He was allowed home the following day.

Disappointingly for Meath rider Sarah Ennis, and her husband Niki Potterton who owns the Canturo gelding, Cooley Cosmopolitan Diamond, who was lying 14th overnight on 46.8, had developed a skin infection on his lower hindlegs. While connections used everything they could to make the horse more comfortable, he failed the second horse inspection.

This left Power and Rio Olympian Jonty Evans to fly the flag for Ireland. The latter, who was 10th last to jump, put in a very good clear with Helen Caton’s John The Bull but, unfortunately, a single time penalty moved them on to a total score of 46.6 which cost them two places and saw them finish ninth.

A lovely chesnut gelding by Luidam, John The Bull was bred in Co Westmeath by James Byrne. He is out of the thoroughbred mare Think About It (by Houmayoun) who, from 14 outings on the track, was a best-placed fifth of 20 first time out in a bumper at Punchestown in January 2000 and third of 20 in a maiden hurdle at Listowel the following April.

The CCI format did have its effect on the result in the show jumping phase with Germany’s Rebecca-Juana Gerken having two fences down with the Holstein mare Day Of Glory 4 to drop from ninth to 16th. There were moans from the home crowd when French rider Mathieu Lemoine picked up four penalties with the Selle Français gelding Better Win who completed in 11th place on 47 having started the final day in seventh.

A good clear by New Zealand’s Jesse Campbell with the ISH gelding I Spye saw them gradually climb the leaderboard and they eventually finished fourth (43.4) as Bullimore had the Liverpool fence (five) down with Corouet before the Power-ridden DSL The Entertainer lowered the preceding oxer.

The French crowd were on good terms with themselves again following a clear from Le Lion regular Thomas Carlile and the Selle Français mare Birmane (42) while foot-perfect rounds from Bob Chaplin and Monkeying Around saw Tapner and Taylor also complete on their dressage scores to take the silver and gold medals respectively.

DELIGHTED

While disappointed not to have won a bronze medal, Power was delighted with the performance of DSL The Entertainer who was having his first start in a CCI competition.

“When you consider where we were at the start of the season (competing at EI100 level), you would have to be happy with that,” commented the rider who was making her third appearance at these FEI world breeding championships for young event horses.

“He made a mistake in the dressage which proved costly as, without that, we were very close to winning outright. You couldn’t fault him across the country where the crowd of about 25,000 didn’t faze him at all. I really had to time things right as one second either way meant I would have dropped a place. They could have done with a question or two to sort them out and it wasn’t at all like a Pierre Michelet track.

“This is a huge horse who is still finding his way. He showed that he was still a baby with that mistake on Sunday but, in the grand scheme of things, I was delighted with him. Caroline is keen to hold on to him and it’s a matter of same time, same place as Le Lion is where we want to be this time next year!

“I hope I can get some more good young horses into the yard after this. Most people associate me with thoroughbreds but hopefully now they will realise that I can actually ride other horses as well!”

(Also see Pony Tales A71)