JESSICA Burke and Express Trend (Future Trend x Condios), bred and owned by Liam Nicholas, won Saturday’s CSIO4*-W 1.50m Prix Maroc Telecom Winning Round event at Rabat in Morocco.

Part of the Morocco Royal Tour, the Rabat leg took place at the Royal Moroccan Federation of Equestrian (FRMSE) Sports’ facilities.

The ‘winning round’ format includes a first round, where the 12 best riders qualify to jump-off and are reset to zero; this suited Burke, who had one down in the first round with Express Trend

“He’s a 13-year-old horse that I’ve been riding for 10 years. It’s the specialty of our stables, we train our own young horses, so we know each other by heart and he’s a very efficient horse,” Burke said.

“The fence down in the first round was entirely my fault. Thank God I benefitted from that (winning round) rule today.”

Clear in a time of 35.25, Burke snatched victory from second placed Emanuele Gaudiano (Italy) and Chalou (Chacco-Blue x Boulbet du Rouet), who finished in 35.72.

Third went to Jennifer Hochstadter and Tinka’s Hero Z (Tinka’s Boy x Caretino 2), who were also clear, but more than two seconds slower than Burke.

Burke’s other major wins recently came with Marieke Z and Seapatricke De Semily at Chepstow in August and with Inpluss at the Dublin Horse Show in August and Rome in May. She also had three wins with Future Trend in Italy earlier in the season.

Nations Cup

Also representing Ireland at the event were the Irish Show Jumping team, who finished fourth of eight teams in Sunday’s Nations Cup.

The quartet comprised Burke with Nikey HH (Herald Van’t Ruyershof x Upsilon VD Heffnick), Billy Twomey with Diego Del Caribe (Kannan x Quidam de Revel), Christopher Megahey with Doriano de Blondel (Vagabond De La Pomme x Coriano) and Deirdre Reilly with Cocktail de Talma (Baloubet Du Rouet x Dobel’s Cento), who finished on a combined total score of 22 faults.

Victory went to Belgium on a four fault score.

Switzerland struck hard from the outset, stringing together three clear rounds that enabled Barbara Schnieper to rest her ride, Canice, in the first round and drop Belgium to four points behind.

After a second clear round from Elian Bauman (Little Lumpi E), the foundations of the Swiss castle were shaken by the 12 faults scored by Mehdi Roessli-Dobjanschi and Valderama Tame.

Alexandra Amar and Vincy du Gue’s time fault further weakened the Swiss, while the Belgians lined up clear rounds in succession, thanks to Virginie Thonon and Edgard de Préfontaine, Cyril Cools and Milton Z and Marine Scauflaire and Hortus d’Hoogpoort.

Schnieper had to take Canice out of the stall with the onerous responsibility of producing a clear round with no alternative for the Swiss to win, but the blue oxer after the water-jump proved fatal and they slipped back to second place.

France completed the podium by moving up one place in the second round.