THERE were wide-margin winners in two of the Horse Sport Ireland classes last Sunday at Milchem Equestrian Centre where Fraser Duffy both benefitted and suffered thanks to judge Liam Maloney’s largesse with his marks.

Senior rider at Carol Gee’s Fernhill yard on the edge of Kilkenny city, Duffy ran out the comfortable winner of the 19-runner EI100 class for five-year-olds with Gee’s Irish Sport Horse gelding Fernhill Count On Me who recorded one of nine clear rounds to complete on his impressive dressage score of 20.5 penalties.

Co Meath’s Sarah Ennis, who is competing two horses at Le Lion d’Angers this weekend, warmed up for her French trip when finishing second with her sole ride at the Co Galway venue, Dolmen Stellor Design (28), an ISH gelding by Quantino, while the more locally based Anita Algierowicz placed third with Geraldine Quinn’s home-bred ISH gelding Cairnview Noble Jester (28.25), a chesnut son of Harlequin du Carel. Four jumping penalties proved costly for Amy Grady and the Connemara gelding Glynsk Star who slipped to sixth on 30.25.

Fernhill Count On Me, who finished fifth in an EI100 for five-year-olds under Luca Bortolamei in his sole Eventing Ireland start at Grove early this month, has 26 Showjumping Ireland points to his credit. He won his performance horse class at Balmoral in May and the Dubarry Burghley five-year-old young event horse qualifier at the Tatteralls Ireland show in July. The bay was bred in Co Limerick by Joanne Murphy Hanley out of her Aldatus Z mare Buttercup Elm.

Milchem Mischief delivers

In the nine-strong EI110 for six and seven-year-olds, Duffy had to settle for second and fourth with his Ballindenisk winner and runner-up, You Two Hotshot (31.75) and Liscarrow Fernhill (32.25). Both of these six-year-old ISH geldings, who are by Warrenstown You 2 and Colandro respectively, jumped clear as did third-placed seven-year-old ISH gelding Ballingowan Merit (31.75), a Tinarana Goldwave chesnut ridden by his owner, Ann O’Grady.

All three have plenty of EI experience behind them as does the ISH mare Milchem Mischief who completed on her impressive dressage score of 20.75 to win under owner Marie Dunne’s 14-year-old daughter Katie Gibbons.

The six-year-old 148cms dun is by the little-used ISH stallion Carnhill Bertas Lad (a son of Moores Clover). She was bred by host for the day Ralph Conroy, chairman of the Western Region of Eventing Ireland, out of the Contra A mare Milchem Sea Bird.

Gibbons and Milchem Mischief, whose test on Sunday was performed in near horizontal rain, won once and placed five times in six EI100 (P) classes this year while they also finished third in the Intermediate Pony Club combined training final at the Dublin Horse Show in August.

The non HSI classes at these levels were won by Amy McDonagh and her 15-year-old black mare Forest View Anne (EI100) and Michelle Gilligan and her ISH gelding Avalon Renkum (EI110), a nine-year-old chesnut by Porsch.