IRELAND’s Emma Egan recorded her first international success last week at Millstreet where she won the Noel C. Duggan Hardware CCI2*-S on her mother Sara’s Irish Sport Horse mare, Ballytoher Sabrina.

The 16-year-old coloured mare may not have a recorded pedigree but she has an established provenance through a lengthy association with former members of the Co Kildare Pony Club. She was campaigned by both Zara and Shannon Nelson before being leased for two years to the Egans who purchased her in 2019, a year after Emma had partnered her to victory in the Irish Pony Club/Connolly’s Red Mills open individual eventing championships in Ballindenisk.

Under Eventing Ireland rules, Egan and Ballytoher Sabrina posted just one victory before last weekend, in an EI110 (J) at Rosanna in May 2019 after which they finished 20th in the CCIJ2*-L at Tattersalls. Unfortunately, on their next start, in an unrestricted two-star long format class at Camphire, the mare picked up a tendon injury and only returned to competitive action this March. Last year, Ballytoher Sabrina had a filly foal by Chill Out.

Maynooth-based Egan kept it simple last week. Following the flatwork assessment of the ground jury, Britain’s Douglas Hibbert (C ) and Ireland’s Marie Hennessy (B), she and Ballytoher Sabrina were lying 11th on a penalty score of 33.2. And that was the score on which they completed while those ahead of them failed to do so likewise.

Recording double clears within the time saw Ireland’s Amelia McCarthy climb from 29th after dressage to finish second on Tillystown Girl (36.9) while her compatriot, Momo Sheehy, finished third with TMX Herby (37.2) on whom she had been lying 31st of the 41 starters.

Britain’s Kirsty Chabert, who won the CCI4*-S with Classic VI, led this class after the first phase on Heraldiks Girl Opposition (29.2) but this Fleetwater Opposition mare rolled a pole and, with the addition of time penalties in both jumping phases, dropped to 12th on a total of 45.2.

While Emma’s mother Sara couldn’t travel to Millstreet, the rider was supported by her father Eamonn, her good friend Emma Dillon who acted as groom and her coach Jane Kinsella. Strangely not riding at this event was James O’Haire with whom Egan works each morning before attending to her own horses in the afternoons.

In addition to Ballytoher Sabrina, she is competing the six-year-old Kannan gelding Marino and has a Dignified van’t Zorgvliet four-year-old waiting in the wings.

“Before she gets too old for it, I’d like to move Sabrina up to EI115 level, possibly at Crecora, and then do the two-star long classes at Millstreet and Ballindenisk,” concluded the rider.