OFFALY’S Darragh Kenny showed just how talented a rider he is, when winning Sunday’s five-star 1.60m Grand Prix at the Major League Show Jumping fixture at Monterrey in Mexico, riding the 17-year-old grey Holsteiner stallion VDL Cartello (Cartani 4 x Lord), owned by Heathman Farm.

From the 37 starters, just six jumped clear within the time allowed in round one – among them were Kenny and Conor Swail on My Lady Lavista. Four combinations jumped clear again second time out.

Kenny and VDL Cartello rode an incredible round, their unbelievable turns evoking gasps from the audience. They jumped the huge fences at breathtaking angles and just rubbed the top of the wall, but it remained in place and they finished clear in a heart-stopping 36.27 seconds.

Italy’s Emanuele Camilli was very close on their heels in 36.35 on board Odense Odeveld, with Northern Ireland-based Sameh El Dahan (GBR) on WKD Aimez Moi, a 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare sired by Je T’aime Flamenco and owned by the rider and Joanne Sloan-Allen, taking third in 36.48. In a very close finish, the top four were separated by just 0.62 seconds, with Christian Ahlmann (GER) and Dourkhan Hero Z stopping the clock in 36.89 for fourth.

Swail incurred four faults to finish fifth, while Shane Sweetnam picked up a time penalty in round one with RR Combella, but secured eighth place.

Retirement

This is the first five-star Grand Prix that VDL Cartello has won during his illustrious career, which has included two Olympic Games, and, with the horse due to retire in a few weeks at CHI Geneva, it was a meaningful win.

“He made so many of my dreams come true at high levels, so to win a five-star Grand Prix on him towards the end of his career is very cool,” said Kenny, who is currently ranked 22nd in the world show jumping rankings. “He’s been an incredible horse for me, and honestly, it’s been nothing but fun. He’s a super-brave horse, so I could take a risk one to two doing the seven. I went as fast as I could to the oxer and took another risk to the wall. He had a little touch there, but it stayed up.

“Somehow, we’ve always missed out on a five-star Grand Prix win, so I thought I’d risk everything [today] to see what could happen and I honestly have never gone this fast with him! I’ve always wanted to win this Grand Prix, and to be able to do it with this horse in this moment is pretty special,” Kenny concluded.

Following Swail’s Grand Prix win at MLSJ Tryon, his top five finish here has put him in the top spot on the individual MLSJ leaderboard with 63 points. Kent Farrington (USA) is just three points behind, while Kenny now sits third on 42.

Success

Sunday’s classes commenced with a five-star 1.45m ranking class, which was won by Sligo’s Richard Howley on board the 15-year-old gelding Mansini Ltd. Following six withdrawals, 27 started the class, with three retiring. Ten combinations proceeded to the jump-off, where eight managed to keep all the fences standing. Howley was fastest of these in a time of 41.06 seconds – almost a second and a half ahead of runner-up Nicola Philippaerts (BEL) on Derby De Riverland (42.53). Third place went to Carlos Hank Guerreiro on H5 Sunshine (42.68).

“It was a great win this morning,” Howley said after his victory. “Mansini has been a fantastic horse for me. He’s a true winner. He always tries his best and, when I give him the right instructions, he always tries to deliver.

“It was a very competitive jump-off class, with some of the best riders and horses in the world. So, it’s always a pleasure and an honour to win at these five-star shows and to win with the Roadrunners last night too.”

The night before, in the 1.50m MLSJ Team competition, Howley and Zodiac Du Buisson Z were on the winning Roadrunners team with one time fault from their two rounds; jumping clear in the jump-off in 48.66. Howley’s teammates Kaitlin Campbell (USA) on Armentos and Erynn Ballard (CAN) on Fave D’authuit also jumped clear, ensuring another victory for the Roadrunners and holding their lead at the top of the standings. Sweetnam and Irandole Du Flot were on the second placed Maccabi United team when double clear in 47.94, holding their overall position.

The show began at the Club Hípico La Silla at Monterrey last Wednesday with warm-up classes and proceeded to various qualifying classes and two-star classes on Thursday.

Friday’s five-star 1.55m ranking class saw Swail and Theo 160 finish just off the podium in fourth place. Just seven of the 38 starters jumped clear to get through to the jump-off, where five repeated the feat. Swail’s time of 41.07 seconds wasn’t quite fast enough for a podium position this time. The class was won by Germany’s Daniel Deusser on Otello De Guldenboom (39.63), followed by Erynn Ballard (CAN) on De Flor 111 Z Santa Rosa (40.30) in second and Carlos Hank Guerreiro (MEX) on H5 Porthos Maestro Wh Z (40.94) in third.

On Saturday, Sweetnam rode Irandole Du Flot into seventh place in the five-star 1.50m MLSJ Individual class, while Sameh El Dahan (GBR) rode the Irish Sport Horse WKD Toronto into ninth place out of 38 starters.

Next for Major League Show jumping will be the season finals at Desert International Horse Park in La Quinta, California. The $1m five-star Coachella Cup and MLSJ Individual Final is scheduled for December 7th, before the new MLSJ season champion is crowned in the Team Final on December 14th.