THERE were three Irish riders in the top five of the $215,000 CSI4* Horseware Ireland Grand Prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival at Wellington, Florida on Sunday, March 16th.

In total, 14 combinations progressed from 40 to the jump-off and the trio of green jackets among that group finished in the slipstream of winner Carlos Hank Guerreiro (MEX) on H5 Porthos Maestro WH Z and runner-up Marilyn Little (USA) and La Contessa.

Piloting his Paris Olympic mount, Guerrero tackled Oscar Soberan’s jump-off track with unmatched speed, challenging the rest of the field to chase him down. He and the 11-year-old Zangerside gelding stopped the short course clock at 39.98 seconds.

“H5 Porthos Maestro WH Z has been an amazing horse since day one,” Hank Guerreiro said. “I’ve had him since he was seven and, last year, he took me to achieve my childhood dream of going to the Olympics. This was his first Grand Prix at WEF this season and I wasn’t expecting much, since he’s been on holiday.

“I’ve been jumping here for a few years now, and these Saturday night lights events are very special. It’s what motivates us during the week. To win one has always been a dream of mine, so I’m very grateful. If you can win here, you can win anywhere.”

Giving their best effort, Marilyn Little and her own mare, La Contessa, finished less than a second off the pace in 40.55 to take the runner-up position.

Riding for Ireland was Tipperary 20-year-old Tom Wachman, who rounded out the podium in third aboard Coolmore Show Jumping’s Do It Easy (Vigo CC X Lakin), their clear round in 40.61 less than three-quarters of a second off the winning time.

Wexford athlete Bertram Allen followed up his Friday podium place with a fourth-place finish here with Qonquest De Rigo, while Cian O’Connor and Iron Man were fifth in 41.34 seconds to round out yet another fantastic big class showing for the Irish in Wellington.

That aforementioned podium finish for Allen came with Gary De Cerisy in the four-star 1.50m speed class in Wellington on Friday, where Wachman’s brother, Max and the Irish Sport Horse Kilkenny were also third in a jump-off the night before.

Brennan takes U25 Grand Prix

Also worth noting was Timmy Brennan’s brilliant win in the $50,000 BrainJuice U25 Series Final Grand Prix on board Diadema Della Caccia. The result meant he finished second in the league overall and was congratulated with a special St Patrick’s weekend rendition of Amhrán na bhFiann.

Brennan had a fantastic first season in Wellington, winning both the BrainJuice U25 Semi-Final and Sunday’s Final - both on the 10-year-old Italian Sport Horse mare.

“It’s been an absolute dream,” Brennan (19) said of his success. “My horse has been incredible, she has improved and improved. To me, it’s been a massive experience. She’s only 10, so it’s brought her along too. It’s been great for both of us; jumping under the lights and here today. It was two fantastic classes.

“I’d love to come back next year,” he continued. “It’s a very nice place to be because there’s not a lot going on at home in Ireland. I’ve learned a lot over here, so I’d love to come back again.”