SVEN Joseph Hadley had a successful show at Lier in Belgium over the weekend, with several good results, including a win in Saturday’s one-star 1.30m speed class on board Maximum Numero Too HSH, when clear in 54.91 seconds. Runner-up Rik Nauta (BEL) on Un Diamant Ress Z finished just over a second and a half behind in 56.49.

Hadley took the top spot again in Sunday’s one-star 1.20m two-phase special, riding HSH Harper du Seigneur to a double clear round in a phase two time of 29.86, almost a second ahead of Belgian runner-up, Nauta on Kia Maria Vd Potaarde (30.66).

Irish success

Week three of the Spring Tour at Lier in Belgium was held from March 27th until 30th and Irish competitors really showed their talents.

Ireland’s Jenny Dunlop rode Questro Z into sixth place in the first division of Thursday’s two-star 1.35m two-phase special class, while Shane O’Reilly on BWE Special Rose placed third in the second division, with Eoin McMahon on Elton P Z placing ninth.

The Young Horse one-star five and six-year-old 1.10m/1.20m two-phase special class saw a great result for Irish competitors, with Kian Dore on Ardkyle Freestyle in fourth, Sven Joseph Hadley on Casla Dawn in fifth, Emer Kavanagh on MMS Alexa in seventh and Hadley on Toleen ST in eighth.

Hadley took the runner-up spot in Friday’s one-star 1.20m two-phase special with Maximum Numero Too HSH, when they jumped double clear in a phase two time of 28.27. Class winner Mark Wildish (GBR) on Jupiler was only 0.1 seconds ahead in 28.17. Hadley also placed sixth in the class with HSH Harper du Seigneur, while Niamh Devlin on HHS Toronto finished seventh.

Jack Brennan rode MHS November Rain into second place in Saturday’s Young Horse one-star seven and eight-year-old 1.35m/1.40m final with a double clear in a jump-off time of 32.08, only being beaten by Germany’s Kendra Claricia Brinkop on Sniper des Lilas Blancs (31.53).

O’Reilly and Bossa Nova Boy won the Young Horse one-star five and six-year-old 1.15m/1.25m two-phase final on Saturday, with a double clear round in a phase two time of 28.08 seconds. O’Reilly also placed eighth with Billy Hopper (30.40).

There was another top 10 finish for Hadley in Sunday’s two-star 1.35m two-phase special class, when he rode Make It Easy into ninth place, while in the one-star 1.30m Grand Prix, Emma O’Dwyer placed seventh with Rubetski.

Dore finished on the podium in the two-star 1.45m Grand Prix, when he placed third with Helssinki, while in the one-star 1.10m two-phase special class, Isabel Fitzpatrick on Hascombe George’s Star placed seventh and Dunlop on Charmeur Vd Donkhoeve Z placed ninth.