IT was a case of quality rather than quantity at the five-star World Cup Show in Sharjah, UAE over the weekend, with Irish riders continuing their excellent run of form.

It was Ireland’s day at Sharjah on Sunday, as Tipperary’s Shane Breen rode BP Arctic Blue, owned by Greg Broderick’s Ballypatrick Stables and Sophie Richards, to win the two-star 1.45m Grand Prix from a start list of 49, of whom 10 jumped clear within the allocated time in the first round, to secure their place in the jump-off.

All but four incurred faults second time out, with Breen riding the fastest clear round in 32.59 seconds to claim the win. Second place went to Mohammed Ghanem Al Hajri (UAE) on Lelielounka STW, who finished exactly a second behind in 33.59, with Belgian rider Celine Schoonbroodt-De Azevedo on Granit de la Mure taking third (34.39).

Not to be outdone, Kildare’s Michael Pender quickly followed up by taking the top spot and the winner’s prize of just over €35,000 in the five-star 1.55m Winning Round class on board the nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse, HHS Cyprus, bred by Marion Hughes.

There were 28 on the start list, with the top 10 proceeding to round two. Pender jumped one of only two double clears in the class, with his second-round time of 36.17 seconds being a significant margin (over six seconds) ahead of British runner-up Georgia Tame on BE Golden Lynx (42.62). The podium was completed by Germany’s David Will on Xixo Borgia, who incurred four faults in 35.53.

Placings

International show jumping kicked off at Sharjah last Thursday evening, February 20th. Saturday’s five-star 1.45m speed and handiness class saw Shane Breen and Scarteen finish in seventh place when completing the course in 71.49 seconds in a 29-strong class, which was won by Egypt’s Abdelrahman Ikram on Graduate HBC in a time of 62.07.

The following five-star 1.50m jump-off class saw Trevor Breen place eighth with Luidam’s Warrior, when finishing with four faults in 69.15 seconds in round one. Only six of the initial 32 combinations jumped clear in the first round. The winning round was ridden by Belgium’s Constant van Paesschen on Diaz du Thot in a time of 43.95.

The show concluded with the five-star 1.55m Grand Prix on Sunday evening, which saw the Breen brothers both finish in the top 10.

From a start list of 40, 10 combinations proceeded to round two, where the competition really ramped up.

Only one horse and rider succeeded in jumping double clear to take a decisive win and that was Brazil’s Luiz Felipe Cortizo Goncalves De Azevedo Filho on Sierra du Piedroux Z (65.80), with runner-up Abdullah Humaid Al Muhairi on Chacolu incurring an unfortunate time penalty (67.64).

Shane Breen rode Scarteen into fifth place to finish with four faults in 64.39 seconds, while brother Trevor placed eighth on board Highland President with eight faults in a fast time of 63.39.

Doha

Meanwhile, at the five-star show at Doha, Qatar, Ireland’s Deirdre Reilly rode her own Derryglen Othello into fourth place in Sunday’s three-star 1.50m Grand Prix.

From 34 starters, only five jumped clear in the first round to get through to the jump-off, with just two managing to jump double clear.

The win went to Britain’s Scott Brash on Hello Folie in a time of 41.70 seconds, just ahead of Abdullah Alsharbatly (KSA) on Boeckmanns Lord Pezi Junior (42.83) in second.

Reilly picked up four faults in 47.47 to finish fourth.