KILDARE’S Mikey Pender was on top form at the five-star World Cup show in Madrid, Spain at the weekend, with a number of podium finishes, including a fantastic runner-up position in Sunday’s 1.60m Longines FEI Jumping World Cup class riding HHS Los Angeles, a 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare bred by Marion Hughes of Hughes Horse Stud.

There were 40 on the start list for the class, which is the sixth leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup series, 13 of whom jumped clear within the allocated time over the first-round track set by Javier Trenor Paz to get through to the jump-off. Paz’s course was strong, but fair and, among the 13 fences on the track, he included four maximum height obstacles. He has great experience building at IFEMA Madrid and, being aware that horses are sometimes daunted by the venue, his track was less technical than other legs.