BRITAIN’s Kirsty Chabert has become a regular visitor to Ireland over the past two years and the Team Opposition rider brought four home-breds to compete at last weekend’ Semalease Kilguilkey House International where she won the CEA Architects CCI3*-S with Opposition Loire.

Twenty-eight combinations appeared before the ground jury of Ireland’s James Rooney and Faith Ponsonby who had Chabert leading after the dressage phase on 23.9 penalties with the 12-year-old British Sport Horse mare who was having her first start in this country. Opposition Loire didn’t remain on that score to the end as she picked up a small number of time penalties on both jumping phases for a total of 26.7 but, importantly, she show jumped clear unlike the three others who had sub-30 dressage scores.

Britain’s Sarah Bullimore, who was on 25.9 with Irish Trump following the first day, had a fence down show jumping and incurred time penalties on both jumping phases to finish third (35.1) with the 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding by Furisto’s Trump. On 28 penalties after dressage, Australia’s Kevin McNab fared similarly afterwards to finish fourth with Faro Imp (35.2), the 2016 F-One gelding on whom he won the CCIYH2*-S for six-year-olds at Millstreet last August.

Co Kilkenny-based Robbie Kearns narrowly scraped under the 30 penalty mark with Derena Super Star but saw his hopes of victory fade away when that 10-year-old Womanizer gelding, who is owned by title sponsor Richard Ames, lowered three fences and slipped down to 11th on 41.9.

Happily, and not too surprisingly, Ames and Kearns had another runner in this class and were able to claim second place with RCA Royal Summer who completed on his flat work mark of 34.1. Home-bred in Britain by Ames, the 10-year-old Royaldik bay is out of Summers Mist (CIC2*).

Kilkenny-based British international John Tilley lost out on fourth place when picking up 1.2 cross-country time penalties with the nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Licence To Cooley (35.3) while Dublin-based boxing coach and personal trainer Nessa Briody finished two seconds over the time on the final leg to place sixth with her 10-year-old ISH gelding Tullibards Right Now (36.8).

It was disappointing to see Joseph Murphy having to retire his seven-year-old Orestus mare My Foxhall Kit following two stops at fence seven on the final leg where Blaithnaid Boyd was eliminated when omitting fence 10 on Mr Obos Hullabaloo. Locally-based South African international Storm O’Connor was automatically eliminated when amassing 24 show jumping penalties with Barnaboy Peaches N Cream while Tara Dixon decided to retire Global Narco as early as fence three in the show jumping ring.

Having interviewed Chabert following some of her previous successes in this country, I was looking forward to doing so again this week as owner/rider/breeders always seem to have a different take on the sport of eventing and their results. Unfortunately, Kirsty hadn’t been feeling too well on the trip home to Landford and was unavailable.

Izzi Kirk, who works with Team Opposition and was a winner herself at the weekend, said that Chabert “absolutely adores Opposition Loire who is very talented and very much hopes to get her up to five-star. She thought the tracks at the weekend were very good and the ground was amazing. She always likes it over in Ireland!” And why wouldn’t she?