THE result of the Jack Corrigan Memorial CCIYH2*-S for six and seven-year-olds at Lisgarvan House last week is fairly easy to describe as the first five on the final leaderboard completed on the dressage scores they were awarded by Andrew Bennie and Vanda Stewart.

All 22 combinations who started are based in Ireland but the win went to New Zealand’s Amanda Goldsbury with Cooley Farm’s Cooley On Ice (24 penalties) while British international Daniel Alderson placed second on Margaret Moore’s Irish Sport Horse mare Annestown Royal Blue (25.6), a six-year-old grey by Bonmahon Master Blue. Best of the Irish competitors in third was Junior rider Ava Dowley with Margaret Bowe’s Holstein mare IDA 83, a seven-year-old daughter of Crumble.

Co Meath-based Welsh native Amy Parsons led after dressage on Wellfields Casino Royale (23.9) but this striking six-year-old British-bred Hanoverian gelding was eliminated when falling at fence 11 on the cross-country course. Horse and rider were both reported fine after their tumble.

Cooley On Ice is a six-year-old Zangersheide mare by Cicero Z out of a Diamant de Semilly mare. She headed to this inaugural international at the home of the late Jack Corrigan on the back of just two official Eventing Ireland runs. The grey had finished 22nd of 39 in the EI110 at Grove in late June after which she won at the same level at Ballindenisk 2 the following month.

“This is a lovely mare, a real smasher, who I bought from Clement McMahon,” said owner Richard Sheane of the winner. “Amanda now has two horses qualified for the six-year-old championship at Le Lion (the second, Coolnorran Cooley was entered at Lisgarvan House but didn’t start) and would love to go but it all depends on how the other New Zealanders fare in the young horse championships at Cornbury House (next week).”

On the event in general, Sheane commented: “It was really well-run and, most importantly, the ground was excellent especially given the weather we’ve had this summer.”