SUNDAY was Michael Pender’s day in Oliva, Spain, as the final week of the Autumn Mediterranean Equestrian Tour 2023 - Tour III was held. Pender and Marion Hughes’ HHS Fortune won the 1.45m Two-phase class with the fastest double clear in a jump-off time of 25.77 seconds. Another Irish man, Michael G Duffy rode Kyara Rock into 11th place in the class, also jumping double clear, but with a slower jump-off time of 29.79 seconds.

Competition got underway on Tuesday, when Michael G Duffy was a joint winner in the 1.35m Seven-year-old class with Cocette du Plevau Z and C’Est Momo. Duffy followed this up on Wednesday in the 1.40m Seven-year-old final with an eighth place on C’Est Momo and an 11th place on Cocette du Plevau Z, while in the MET Seven-year-old Young Horse Champion Trophy, Duffy and C’Est Momo finished sixth.

Duffy secured another top 10 finish when he steered Tornado Flip de l’Amitie Z into 10th place in Thursday’s 1.35m Seven-year-old class, while on Friday, Michael Pender and HHS Calais placed third in the 1.45m Grand Prix qualifier, where there were 21 clear rounds out of 77 starters.

Sunday’s 1.30m Bronze class saw an eighth place for Ireland’s Paul Kennedy on Messarity PS, while in another arena, Mark McAuley and Gordios d’Argent placed ninth in the 1.30m Gold class.