CROSSMOLINA’s Luke Corcoran became a rider to be reckoned with during this year’s Eventing Ireland Western Region Berts Properties starter series, which concluded on Easter Monday at the Milchem Equestrian Centre of regional chairman, Ralph Conroy.

Most obvious was the fact that the four horses and one pony Corcoran competed on finals’ day at the Tynagh venue all came off the River View Equestrian lorry wearing rugs won during the series, which were sponsored by Carter Anhold and Co Solicitors. The firm’s Donnacha Anhold, who was competing himself on Monday, missed out on a rug, while Corcoran was presented with another two following his wins in the four-year-old class and the six and seven-year-old class.

Corcoran totally dominated the Sligo Candy Boy four-year-old class, sponsored by Padraig Howley, with the Zangersheide gelding Capital-K van Kattenheye Z. Well ahead following Amanda Goldsbury’s judging of the dressage phase, they then topped Richard Sheane’s marks in the performance phase, where the combination recorded one of five clear jumping rounds for a total of 182.2 marks.

Thanks to their clear rounds and good scores from Sheane, Sean Gormally and Tommy Considine moved up the leaderboard to finish second and third respectively with the Irish Sport Horse gelding NS Mohawk (164.1), a Tyson chesnut, and the ISH gelding Dunsandle Ferro (161.6), a brown son of S Creevagh Ferro. Milchem-based Duncan McFadyen finish fifth (160.9) on the highest-placed Traditional ISH in this class, RDM Ring Of Happiness, a Road To Happiness gelding out of a Cruisings Micky Finn mare.

Luke Corcoran and RV Pulpit Rock won the Six- and Seven-year-old class at the Western Region starter series final at Milchem \ Chloe Goggins Photography

Full marks

Things were a little more complicated in the six and seven-year-old class, sponsored by Drumhowan Stud and the Co Limerick-based Coolballyshan Stud of the Kennedy family, in which nine of the 13 starters claimed the full 50 marks for their jumping round.

Corcoran again established a good lead after dressage on RV Pulpit Rock (60.5), as Godfrey Gibbons scored 56.3 on last year’s winner, his mother Marie Dunne’s Kilnamac Kasu. However, Sheane was far more impressed with the experienced Kilnamac Kasu (CCI2*-S) when it came to his performance marks (70.5 compared to 64.5), so that Ballinasloe combination earned a total of 176.8.

Unfortunately, as previous winners, they couldn’t claim the class again and had to settle for the position of top-placed seven-year-old, as Corcoran took the honours on the year-younger RV Pulpit Rock (175) who he, his brother Adam and their good friend Ian Fives bought privately in Denmark last October. The winner, who is by Silvaner DC, a son of Silvio I, out of a mare by Grafs Stakkato, will be aimed at age classes in both show jumping and eventing, while the aforementioned Capital-K van Kattenheye Z will be given an easier time of it this year.

“We’re going to take it handy and slow with him,” said Corcoran. “We have enough to be doing anyway with Connemara ponies being prepped for a sale in Clifden next month and Traditional Irish Horses and Draughts for showing both in-hand and under saddle. Then there’s all the show jumpers! Also, I’ve been working hard on my flat work, and getting results thanks to my coach, Catherine Meenaghan, so I’m thinking of doing the age classes at the Wild Atlantic Dressage Festival (May 4th and 5th).”

The winner of the Traditional Irish Horse Association prize in the six and seven-year-old class was the Caroline Devine-ridden Captain Devine, a 2018 bay gelding by Clonaslee Captain Cristo out of Hillside Ruby, an unraced thoroughbred mare by Royal Anthem.