AS spring drew to a close, Richard Ames’ Belline Equestrian team really sprang into action, Ireland’s Robbie Kearns seeing April out with a win in the Johnson & Perrott CCI3*-S at Ballindenisk last Sunday on the Irish Sport Horse gelding Ballyvillane OBOS.

This victory came just days after Ames-owned horses dominated the two young horse finals and leagues at the Stepping Stones to Success series in Wexford Equestrian where Kearns took the honours in the five-year-old division with the home-bred, Belline Jack The Lad.

Kearns took over the role as stable jockey at Belline towards the end of January having spent the previous two years in England with Australia’s Kevin McNab. “I have to thank Richard for giving me the opportunity to ride his horses,” said the 26-year-old Limerick native who studied business and finance at Trinity.

He didn’t need to call on his mathematical skills with regard to Ballyvillane OBOS as, with the only double clear inside the time, he completed on his third-place dressage score (28.7 penalties). However, he did when it came to his own mare, Very Dignified, whose fourth-place total of 39.4 included 3.2 cross-country time penalties.

On a second start of the season for both herself and her mount, Ireland’s Felicity Ward was two seconds over the time in the show jumping phase to claim the runner-up spot with Regal Bounty (33.9) and there was an excellent performance from Irish Young Rider Godfrey Gibbons whose total of 36.2 penalties on Milchem Free Spirit included 3.2 on Sunday’s final phase.

Ireland’s Chloe Fagan was the leader on 28 penalties with Comte Ligniere Z going into Saturday’s show jumping phase but a pole down and 7.6 cross-country time penalties saw her finish fifth (39.6). England-based Irish international Aoife Clark was in second after the flat work phase on Fetiche Des Rouges (28.4) but she too picked up four show jumping penalties and then withdrew.

Super horse

Ballyvillane OBOS, who was bred in Co Tipperary by Tim Gleeson, is a 10-year-old chesnut gelding by OBOS Quality 004 out of the Young Convinced mare Gleesons Coolcorran. On his only previous start this season, at Tyrella (1), he jumped a double clear but Kearns took him handy across the county to finish 14th of 21. “This is a super horse that Richard bought as a three-year-old,” said the winning rider. “He tries really hard and is very exciting. His next target is the three-star long at Millstreet.

“This was a very smoothly-run event and, with the weather we’ve been having, the team did a great job with the ground. The three-star track was testing enough for the level.” And he should know as he rode five horses in the class, all who finished.

Eleven of the 30 starters failed to do so, but, of these, two withdrew before show jumping while four did so before cross-country where Ireland’s Emma Newsam was eliminated having been unseated from Kilcooley Michael. Britain’s Franky Reid-Warrilow also had to leave the course when Dolley Phantom refused three times at fence 13a.

The most notable of the three retirements was that of Ireland’s Patricia Ryan, who was lying second going into that phase with The Caped Crusader (29.6), while any hopes of New Zealand’s Sam Lissington completing a short-format double disappeared when Quantas R, on whom she had been in third place (29.9), picked up 20 jumping penalties at fence 11c.