SLIGO’S Richard Howley made an amazing start at week one of the Spring Mediterranean Equestrian Tour at Oliva, Spain, in the past week, where he clocked up an impressive number of wins.
Last Thursday, April 4th, saw Howley ride Pandito van’t Merelsnest Z into the top spot in the two-star 1.45m class, where he was best of the 30 starters. Fifteen of those jumped clear, but Howley’s time of 64.63 seconds was almost two seconds clear of runner-up, Spain’s Mariano Martinez Bastida on Action Force (66.40).
He followed this up with another win in Friday’s 1.45m feature class on board Mansini Ltd. This time, out of 57 starting combinations, there were just 10 clear rounds, with Howley once again the fastest, stopping the clock in 62.11 seconds, more than a second quicker than Dutch rider, Lars Kersten on Boebka vh Marienshof Z, whose time of 63.56 was good enough for second place.
Saturday saw another winning round from Howley and Mansini Ltd, when they won the 1.45m Jump-off class, with a double clear in a time of 36.68 against the clock. This time, Irish riders dominated the proceedings, with Alexander Butler on Jurry Bleu K in second, Clem McMahon on Grand Prix DK in fourth and Trevor Breen on Highland President in sixth.
In an incredible run, Sunday’s 1.40m Two-phase class saw Howley secure yet another first place, riding Pandito van’t Merelsnest Z, when the pair were once again the best of the 42 participants.
Howley continued his run of form into week two at Oliva, where he won the 1.45m Grand Prix qualifier from 63 starters on Thursday, April 11th, with Pandito van’t Merelsnest Z. His speedy round in 57.98 seconds was more than three and a half seconds faster than British runner-up Louise Simpson on Z7 Regal Don. Butler placed third on Espoir de La Loisne.
Irish placings
Week one competitions had commenced on Tuesday, April 2nd, where Ireland’s Nicholas Connors on Jump The Gun and Chelone Z were among the joint winners of the 1.25m Six-year-old class. In the day’s 1.35m Seven-year-old class, Connors featured again on Mister-GO, along with Anna Carway on BP High Life and Delyth Collins on Drumiller Pin Up. Lisa Maria Leonard on MSH Swift Silver was a joint winner in the 1.15m Five-year-old class.
On Wednesday, April 3rd, Connors and Jump The Gun placed eighth in the 1.25m Six-year-old Jump-off class and took fourth place with Mister-GO in the 1.35m Seven-year-old version, followed by Christopher Megahey on Je Vies D Fee Sauveniere Z in sixth and Delyth Collins on Drumiller Pin Up in eighth. Lisa Maria Leonard on MSH Swift Silver placed third in the 1.15m Five-year-old Jump-off class, just 0.26 seconds behind the Spanish winner, Blai Capdevila on an unnamed chesnut mare.
Thursday started well for the Irish, with a one-two in the 1.35m Silver class for Butler on Peanuts Horta and Anna Carway on Ajaccio respectively; Butler also placed sixth on Much Loved, with Megahey seventh on Cola Tic Vd Wijngaardhoeve Z. Butler then took fifth in the 1.40m Two-phase class riding Empress de Paumalice, while Collins and Drumiller Pin Up were third in the 1.35m Two-phase Seven-year-old class.
Friday saw a win for Carway on Baskin Sunny Diamond in a 1.35m class, followed by Lisa Doogan on Cove Park in eighth. The day’s 1.40m class saw second place going to Butler on Peanuts Horta, with Megahey on Cola Tic Vd Wijngaardhoeve Z in third. Aisling Byrne on Bronson de Reve were runners up in a 1.10m class.
Megahey on Cola Tic Vd Wijngaardhoeve Z were third again in the Silver Tour 1.40m Grand Prix on Saturday, followed by Butler on Much Loved in sixth. Meanwhile, Carway on Baskin Sunny Diamond were second, Leonard on MSH Madonna were fourth and Byrne on Cnoc Rua Chinook were seventh in a 1.40m class, with an eighth place for Breen on Jicarla T in a 1.35m class and another eighth for Deirdre Reilly on Pollin Van Zarrenlinde in a 1.30m class.
On Sunday, Byrne was sixth on Cnoc Rua Chinook in the 1.40m Jump-off final, while Butler on Eindhoven GH was eighth in the 1.45m Grand Prix. Byrne on Bronson de Reve placed third in the 1.10m Jump-off class.