IRISH riders were on top form at week three of the Andalucia October Tour at Vejer de la Frontera in Spain last week, concluding with a super performance in the 1.55m Grand Prix, where three of the top four combinations were Irish!

Athlone’s Francis Derwin rode the nine-year-old mare Parvati Aeg into pole position, just fractions ahead of Tipperary’s Max Wachman on Fancy De Kergane. They were closely followed by Kilkenny’s Seamus Hughes Kennedy on ESI Rocky (ISH), bred by Ennisnag Stud, in fourth.

There were 52 on the start list, with 10 combinations jumping clear over the 16 jumping efforts that made up the first-round track. Seven of those jumped clear again, with Hughes Kennedy and ESI Rocky being first in for the jump-off. They jumped another clear round in a time of 40.93 seconds.

Derwin, who is a European young rider team gold and individual silver medallist, was fifth into the arena with Parvati Aeg. They set the time to beat of 39.86 seconds. Wachman and Fancy De Kergane came so close to doing so, but they finished just a fraction behind in 39.88 and had to settle for the runner-up prize, with Derwin the winner.

“Today was a brilliant course,” said Derwin following his win. “It probably suited my horse a little bit. Once I can get the first couple of jumps over, ‘cos she’s very careful, then she gets going. With the double and then the triple being late in the course, that suited. She jumped very good, she’s a lovely horse.”

Derwin is very grateful for the contribution his father, Francis Snr, has made to his success in 2024: “My dad does so much for me. His business is selling horses, but he’s after getting so much into the show jumping. Horses he could have sold, he’s kept for me to try and get me going in the sport. It’s brilliant. He does so much for me. I can’t thank him enough.”

On the podium

Week three of the tour began on Friday, when Max’s brother Tom Wachman also took a podium place, when winning the 1.45m speed class with Cathalina S. Wachman and the 15-year-old mare flew round the 15-fence course in 63.63 seconds to take the win by a margin of more than 2.7 seconds from next best El Ghali Boukaa (MAR) on A Kyss.

The Irish continued to dominate in the one-star young horse seven-year-old 1.30m class, with a one-two going to Kilkenny’s Jack Ryan on Mondavi (ISH), bred by Ronan Tynan, and Kildare’s Michael Pender on his own Madgeslane Louis (ISH), also bred by the rider, respectively. Of the 43 starters, a huge 27 completed double clear rounds, so time was crucial.

Ryan rode a lightening-fast second round in 26.61 seconds, with Pender settling for second place in 28.21. They were both a margin ahead of Gilles Borgonjon (BEL) on Lugana 111, who stopped the clock on 30.78.

A number of Irish competitors were among the clear rounds in the six-year-old 1.25m class, while Melanie Davidson on Diamonds In the Air jumped clear in the five-year-old 1.15m class.

Marta Hughes-Bravo rode Miss Belgium 111 into the top spot in the three-star 1.30m class, while Ella Kenny took the top two places in the 1.20m class with Carrickadawson Womanizer and Calle Cool respectively and Gerard Campbell on Livio finished joint third in the 1.10m class. The day’s three-star 1.40m class saw Billy Twomey place third with Diego del Caribe.

Saturday saw Ryan on the eight-year-old DSH Lucky Junior (ISH) (BBS McGregor (ISH) x Dahlyi (ISH) x Luidam (KWPN)), bred and owned by his uncle Seamus Drea, take the runner-up spot in the three-star 1.45m two-phase class, followed by Tyrone’s Niamh McEvoy on another eight-year-old, Pablo C (ISH), bred by Jordan Campbell, in fourth. There were 61 starters in the class, of whom 22 jumped clear in the first round. There were 15 who managed to keep the fences standing second time round, with Ryan’s time of 27.47 just over a second off the pace of Brazilian winner, Joao Victor Castro Aguiar Gomes De Lima on Charon van Moeshof, who finished in 26.11 seconds. McEvoy wasn’t far behind Ryan on 27.54.

Winning ways

Pender joined the winning party in the three-star 1.40m Small Grand Prix, riding HHS Savanna to win from a large start list of 88. There were 28 who proceeded to the jump-off, but not all of these jumped again – six withdrew, leaving 22 combinations to battle it out, with 14 completing double clear rounds. Pender clocked the only sub-40 second-round time (39.94) to win the class, with second place going to Portugal’s Filipe Malta Da Costa on Iwan B (41.28). McEvoy and Extreme vd Kattevennen Z placed seventh in 45.24.

Hughes-Bravo and Miss Belgium 111 won the day’s 1.30m class again, this time in 57.53 seconds from 42 starters, with Campbell and Livio taking sixth place in the 1.20m class.

Pender was on a roll and won the 1.35m class with Highcross Violet, jumping double clear in a jump-off time of 29.36, ahead of Britain’s Jodie Hall McAteer on Chica vh Ven Z in second (32.22).

Saturday’s seven-year-old 1.35m class saw Michelle Kenny take third place on Mika, while in the six-year-old 1.30m class, Oisin Dillon on Tangilo Wi Ro Z came third, with Kenny in fifth on Milla van de Kapel.

Sunday saw an eighth-place finish for Dillon and Ballybeg Loui in the three-star 1.40m class, while in the 1.35m class, Seamus Hughes Kennedy rode Castlefield Hera into second place, followed by Shane O’Reilly on BWE Valdi Semilly in fourth.

Kenny and Mika took the win in Sunday’s seven-year-old 1.35m class, while Nicholas Connors continued the Irish winning streak in the six-year-old 1.30m class with Chelone Z, followed by Kenny on Milla van de Kapel in fourth and Dill.