WILTSHIRE-based Danielle McCormack, who has represented Ireland since she began eventing seriously in her late teens, brought four horses to last week’s SemaLease Kilguilkey House International, all of whom ran under the Hildare Stud banner of her loyal supporter, Anna Simms Hilditch.

Three of the quartet completed on their dressage scores – Hildare Regarde Moi (27.2 penalties), who claimed an all-the-way success in this Wurth CCI3*-S, Hildare Billy Orinoco (37.2), who finished fourth in the CCI4*-S and Hildare Invictus (34.5), who was eighth in the CCI2*-S. Hildare SM Quentin picked up 6.4 cross-country time penalties en route to a third-place finish on a total of 38.5 in the CCI3*-L.

“I’m very appreciative of the support I get from my owners, which allows me compete at events like this and to avail of lots of training. Being based in England, I’m also very grateful for the support I get from Eventing Ireland, especially Pat (O’Connor), who does an amazing job with international applications, communications, et cetera.”

Discussing the 3*-S winner Hildare Regarde Moi, a seven-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding by Corydon Van T&L out of the Querlybet Hero mare Esperanza van’t Laar, McCormack said: “We think quite a lot of this horse and hope that we can end the season with him at Le Lion. He’ll do another 3*-S next and a 3*-L later in the season.”

1,000 clears

In finishing second on Maureen Brown’s Irish Sport Horse mare Fleur De Lis (29.8 penalties), Gilford’s Steven Smith became the first Irish rider to record 1,000 cross-country jumping clears. Britain’s Laura Collett, who conducted a course walk over the weekend, was third on the traditionally-bred ISH gelding Killossery Kaptain (30.9), who was a second over the time across the country. A pole down show jumping proved costly for Co Cork’s Momo Sheehy riding her father Morgan’s TMX Herby (31.9).

There was a lot of grief in this 42-runner class, including five eliminations. The most influential of these came at the second element of the double at six in the show jumping ring, where Co Cork’s Sian Coleman and the ISH gelding MBF Touch Your Toes, who were joint-second on 27.4 after dressage, parted company.

Unfortunately for Coleman, she landed on her ankle, which blew up and while an x-ray showed that there were no broken bones, she found it difficult to put weight on it in her irons, so decided to withdraw the four short format horses on whom she was well placed before Saturday’s concluding cross-country phase.