STAGED as the first of two international fixtures at the venue this month, last weekend’s Sema Lease Kilguilkey turned out to be a bonanza for riders from overseas. The visitors scooped six of the seven full international classes on offer, with Britain’s Izzy Taylor landing the feature CCI4*-L.

Aptly it was left to Ireland’s Robbie Kearns to prevent a whitewash, as he claimed the final CCI1* Intro class for the title sponsor Richard Ames. Due to an unfortunate calendar clash, Ames was unable to be present at Kilguilkey, but he had plenty to celebrate in Aachen, where Joseph Murphy picked up a top 10 CCIO4* finish on Ames’ syndicate-owned Calmaro.