SWITZERLAND’S Edouard Schmitz scored the biggest win of his career so far when he secured the Longines International Grand Prix of Ireland, the final international class at the Dublin Horse Show last Sunday.

Partnering the 10-year-old gelding Gamin Van’t Naastveldhof, the 22-year-old rider set the time to beat early on as third to go in the seven-horse jump-off and had an anxious wait to see if he would be caught. Two Irish riders - Conor Swail and Shane Sweetnam - completed the podium.

“I think I had a very good turn from number one to two and then the rollback at the end from the vertical with the seven strides and the beige oxer to the last; I think that turn was a bit cheeky and that’s where I made up the time,” he told The Irish Field afterwards.

“My horse is really suited to jump-offs in big arenas like this one. He has quite a big stride which was useful. I’m absolutely over the moon with the result. I knew I needed to be fast with the caliber of riders that were coming behind me so I gave it my all.

“We head home after this and then next week we have a young rider show in Switzerland and I’ll go there with a few young horses.

“This is my first five-star Grand Prix win, and it’s my first time in Dublin so I couldn’t have wished for more. It’s been amazing, we have had a brilliant time. I’ll definitely be back”, a delighted Schmitz added.

Schmitz, who has no family background in horses, moved to Zurich five years ago to train with Thomas Fuchs. He had a successful young rider career, being selected to represent Switzerland at the European Championships in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

This year, he has made the most of his year off from studying Maths and Informatics studies at the University of Zurich to move up to senior level. In July he was on the team in St Gallen where he posted a clear second round to help the team secure a win on home soil.

Competitive

A start list of 40 combinations lined out for the Grand Prix which offered a €350,000 prize fund. The fourth rider in, France’s Megane Moissonnier riding Cordial, produced the first clear round over Alan Wade’s challenging track.

Two horses later, Ireland’s Shane Sweetnam and the Irish-bred James Kann Cruz (Kannan - CSF Telly Cruz, by Cruising) added their names to the jump-off list. Ninth into the ring was Schmitz. He could be heard offering some loud vocal encouragement to his mount Gamin Van’t Naastveldhof on their approach to the water jump; but it seemed to do the trick and the pair progressed to the timed decider.

The next five horses included some that may well have been considered favourites to place in the class; but they were all knocked out. Included in the five were Jack Ryan and BBS McGregor who collected an uncharacteristic 12 faults; Dinard Grand Prix winners Martin Fuchs and Conner Jei had the second fence down; and former Olympic gold medallist Steve Guerdat (Albfuehren’s Maddox) retired after having fences six and eight down.

The ever consistent American rider Laura Kraut produced the next clear round aboard Confu. Following Kraut the next 10 riders collect faults. They included Bertram Allen (Pacino Amiro), Mark McAuley (Jasco VD Bisschop), Cian O’Connor (C Vier 2) and Patrick Lemmen (Exit Remo) who each added four faults to their tally.

Edward Levy and Uno de Cerisy recorded the next clear round making it two for France. Conor Swail and the super talented Count Me In then added their name to the list, as did Andrew Bourns and Sea Topblue.

This meant a total of seven combinations made it through to the jump-off. Eighteen-year-old Niamh McEvoy deserves a special mention here. She gave her mount Templepatrick Welcome Limmerick a fantastic ride and was foot-perfect up to the last line where her mount cleared the second part of the double only to kick back with a hind leg and hit the back bar of the oxer, incurring four faults.

Speaking after the class she said: “I was over the moon delighted with her, she tried her heart out. I couldn’t have asked for more. She was very close to making it through. She’ll have a bit of a break now and then hopefully we’ll do some of the Sunshine Tour in October.”

Jump-off

First to go in the decider over a shortened track with two new fences was Moissonnier and Cordial. They once again produced a clear round to set the pace in a time of 42.77 for France.

Second in was Sweetnam and the Patrick Connolly-bred James Kann Cruz. They were foot-perfect to record a clear in a faster time of 41.92. Schmitz was third to go and from the off he looked ultra-fast, guiding the 10-year-old gelding Gamin Van’t Naastveldhof to an incredible clear in a very fast 39.82 to snatch the lead.

Kraut and Confu were going well until the penultimate fence fell, costing them four faults and leaving them in eventual sixth place. Things did not go to plan for the next duo in Edward Levy and Uno de Cerisy; the second part of the double and the second last down meant eight faults for them and seventh place.

Aga Khan hero Ireland’s Conor Swail was the penultimate rider into the arena aboard Mannon Farm’s Count Me In. They began well and the crowd’s excitement was palpable as they began to believe he could achieve the elusive double; winning the Aga Khan and the Grand Prix in the same year.

He looked to be on target as he approached the final line, and the entire stadium held their breath willing the pair on, but as they crossed the finish, they saw the dream fade away; the clock read 40.29 and they would have to settle for the runner-up spot and a €70,000 pay cheque.

Amazing week

After the class Swail said: “I think his horse just had a bigger step. He did fewer strides; he did eight from fence two to three, I did nine. I think he did one less to the roll back as well, and he did one less to the last, so it was in a few places.

“My fella doesn’t really need to have the bigger stride because he’s faster across the ground, today just wasn’t our day. I’m delighted with him. He has been amazing this week. He’ll have a well-deserved break now here in Ireland and then he’ll come and join me in Canada in a couple of weeks for Spruce Meadows.”

Last to go, Galway’s Andrew Bourns, riding the 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Sea Topblue (Chacco-Blue x Lux Z), bred by John and James Meade, recorded another impressive clear round in a time of 42.38 which would see them finish in fourth place.