IRELAND’S Patrick Whelan placed fifth in Kronenberg Outdoor Horst 4* at Peelbergen Equestrian Centre in The Netherlands last week, riding Altitu.

The pair finished the dressage on a score of 34.4, which put them into ninth place, a position they retained after show jumping moved their score to 38.8. A few time penalties in the cross-country phase moved their score to 48.0, but this was enough to secure them fifth place overall from 25 starters.

“’Al’ finished fifth in only his third start at four-star. Exciting times ahead for this horse at only eight-years-old, looking forward to what he can do next,” Patrick commented on his Facebook page after the event.

Patrick, from Wexford, continued his run of form when he also placed in the top 20 in the three-star class riding Joyce L. Their dressage score of 36.4 moved to 36.8 after show jumping, which moved them up to 18th place, but a few time penalties across the country gave them a final tally of 48.8 and 19th position in the class of 57.

It was another top 20 finish at Intro level (CCI1*-Intro) for Patrick and Tullibards Yes You, who scored 37.6 in dressage, which moved to 42.0 after show jumping, but a clear cross-country round within the time saw them stay on that score to complete in 19th position overall.