IT may not seem that Co Limerick’s Dominic Furnell had the best of times at last week’s Lisgarvan House International but he was upbeat about his horses, particularly the Maxus Ireland CCI2*-S winner, Horlepiep, and was full of praise for this new international event.

Seventeen combinations, mainly Irish, started against Furnell and his Dutch Warmblood gelding but he grabbed the initiative when ‘winning’ the dressage phase on 26.2 penalties and, although a second over the time across the country, he held on to win on 26.6.