THIRTY-five combinations contested this young horse class but none could get near New Zealand’s Sam Lissington and the Dutch Warmblood gelding Mr Cookie Time.

The ground jury for this class comprised New Zealand’s Andrew Bennie (C) and Ireland’s Joanne Jarden (E) who were equally impressed by the flat work of the Cassago six-year-old as they both awarded him 175.5 good marks (79.77%) for a converted penalty score of 20.2 on his international debut. This was an FEI personal best score for Lissington.

Mr Cookie Time maintained his healthy lead over the rest of the field with a clear show jumping round but, while he jumped clear across the country, he did pick up 3.6 time penalties for a completion score of 23.8. The winner is owned by Lissington in partnership with Rachel Bessell, who was an absentee, and Neil Robertson who was present.

In common with her CCI2*-L winner, Quantas R, Mr Cookie Time will be aimed at the British Eventing young horse championships at Cornbury House in early September and then, hopefully, the world championships for young event horses at Le Lion in France in October.

England-based Irish international Danielle McCormack had some good results over the weekend at the higher levels and here finished second, on her dressage score with the Belgian Warmblood gelding Hildare Regarde Moi (26.1) whose owners, Anna and Hugh Sims-Hilditch, also own the CCI2*-S winner, Hildare Hermitage.

Unbeaten

Co Wicklow-based New Zealander Amanda Goldsbury moved up from eighth after dressage to finish third with Cooley Farms’s six-year-old black I’m Special de Muze gelding Coolnorran Cooley (29.9) who had been unbeaten in all five of his national starts. He remains on course for Le Lion according to Richard Sheane who couldn’t attend Millstreet at the weekend as he was supervising son Arthur who was driving in Punchestown, where he was a winner, while his wife Georgina was in Scotland where their daughter Ellie was on the winning Irish Pony Club under 10s’ mounted games team. They also had horses show jumping in Mullingar.

Another ISH gelding, the Emerald van’t Ruytershof seven-year-old SVS Dassett Ziva finished fourth, on his flat work mark of 31.4, under Britain’s Ben Way. Very few of these young horses had problems in jumping across the country although less than half managed to beat the clock.