AT the recent Eventing Ireland one-day in Grove, Robbie Kearns recorded three top-six placings over two sections of the EI100 on young horses owned by Richard Ames.

At Kilguilkey, he partnered three Belline Equestrian inmates into the top six in the DJI CCI1*-Intro, losing out on a fourth when one of his Grove winners, Belline Thistle Bethelasttime, had a fence down show jumping and eventually finished up ninth on a total of 32.5 penalties.

Nearly half of the 22 runners completed on their dressage scores; Belline Thistle Bethelastime was one of just three horses to lower a pole in the show jumping ring, where seven others incurred time penalties; and none had a problem in jumping across the country, where all but eight beat the clock.

Displaying remarkable consistency, Kearns won on the ISH gelding Belline Gucci (25.1 penalties), a Watermill Swatch bay bred in Co Tipperary by Patrick Hough out of the Silvano mare Lordspark Silver; finished third on the ISH gelding Belline JFH Golden Spear (27.5); and placed fifth with the 2017 ISH gelding Belline Castle Fifty Seven (29.7).

Junior rider Claire O’Ryan finished second on her mother Angela’s 14-year-old ISH gelding DSL The Professor (27.3) who, in the past, has competed at 4* level, and the in-form Patrick Whelan placed fourth with Sharon Power’s six-year-old dun ISH gelding Grantstown Dun And Dusted (29.2). Tipperary-based Swedish rider Sara Lundkvist had to settle for sixth on Paul Donovan’s ISH mare Sportsfield More Fusion, whose total of 29.8 included 1.2 time penalties.