EUROPEAN team gold medallist and 2023 Dublin young rider champion, Coen Williams, added another superb victory to his collection when capturing the win in the 1.50m Plusvital Premier Series Grand Prix in Cavan last Sunday.
Riding the French-bred stallion Elsandro Du Bois (Sandro Boy x Diamant De Semilly), Williams proved best in the 10-way jump-off to secure the top-spot in the lucrative class, which offered a prize-fund of €15,000.
Speaking after the class, he explained: “The plan was to stay tight and to try and get the best distance everywhere. I knew that there were a good few fast horses coming behind me, so I had to set a good pace.
“I think I made up some time to the roll back after the third fence, the vertical, into the double and then I kind of opened him up coming home.
“He’s 10 years old. We’ve had him since he was eight, but he’d never done a show, so he’s just really starting to get it together now. We’re absolutely delighted with his performance today.
“I’d like to thank PlusVital for sponsoring the class and also Gordon Hogan, who travelled all the way up from Co Clare with us and gave me great help in the pocket today.
“The whole team, Sorcha, my brother Rhys and my parents, as well as John Paul Musette, who is a co-owner of the horse with my father.
“I’ve two horses qualified for Dublin; a five-year-old (Mac Liofa Grand Slam) and a six-year-old (Carlingfords Chin Lui) and will be trying to get one or two more in at the qualifiers this week in Mullingar.
“The conditions here in Cavan, the arena and the courses were really good today.
“The next show for the stallion (Elsandro Du Bois) will be the next round of the Premier Series in Maryville on July 7th, so I’ll try to save him for that and hopefully get another good result.”
Jump-off
Some 41 combinations lined-out for the third round of the Premier Series. Of these, just 10 produced a first-round clear to progress to the timed decider.
First to go was Nicholas Connors aboard Ann Connors’ French-bred gelding Fornett D’Emeraude (Cornet Obolensky x L’Arc de Triomphe). They set the target, with a second clear round in a time of 44.26 seconds, which would keep them inside the money in eventual seventh place.
Second to go was Patrick Hickey with his father William’s Casago II (Casall x Carthago). They too left all the fences intact, managing to slice almost three seconds off the time in 41.4. This would be good enough to see them take the runner-up spot in the final line-up.
Having scored a fifth place at the first round in Barnadown, Hickey now adds eight points to his tally of five, leaving him on a total of 13 and in second place on the Series leaderboard.
Belgian-bred
2024 Young Rider Academy student, Rhys Williams was third in, riding a fairly recent addition to his string, the Belgian-bred Preston Van’t Reebroeck (Vigo D’arsouilles x Diarado). They produced a second clear in 46.70 for eighth place.
Ballypatrick’s Niamh McEvoy and Robin Bingham’s mare Templepatrick Welcome Limmerick (Limmerick x Lux Z) provided the next double clear in 42.93 for fifth place, which added five points and brought her up to 15 points and to the top of the leaderboard.
Coen was fifth to go. A superb, well-executed clear in 40.50 saw him capture the lead and the 10 league points on offer.
Sven Hadley and his own Belgian-bred stallion Phenomene Bleu (Diamant De Semilly x Nabab De Reve) were foot-perfect in 41.49 for an impressive third place.
Comdt. Geoff Curran and the Minister For Defence’s gelding Hawthorn Hill (Cardento x Limmerick), bred by Jerry Quinn, matched the previous six double clears, theirs coming in 43.36 for sixth place.
Francis Connors and his own mare Carrigshawn Vendi Royal (Dondoctro Ryal K x Ars Vivendi), bred by John Warner, provided the next double clear, stopping the clock at 41.72 for fourth.
Frano Derwin and Flexi K (Flex A Bill x Luidam), bred by Knightfield Stud, gave it a real go, breaking the finish beams in 40.86, but a fence on the ground demoted them to ninth.
Last to go were the previous week’s National Grand Prix winners, Vincent Byrne and Flaminia Straumann’s stallion Quantino (Quarz x Coriano). A single fence down in 42.10 saw them finish just inside the money in 10th place.
The next round of the Plusvital Premier Series takes place on July 7th in Maryville. After three rounds, Niamh McEvoy leads on 15 points, while Patrick Hickey is in second place on 13. The top two after the fifth round in Balmoral will earn a place in the internationals at this year’s Dublin Horse Show.