IRISH horses and riders gave a great account of themselves at Peelbergen in The Netherlands last week, with numerous wins and placings at both one-star and two-star level.

The most notable of these was in Saturday’s two-star 1.45m Grand Prix, which saw Max Wachman ride the 10-year-old gelding Tipperary (Arko III x Diamant de Semilly) into third place out of 75 participants. Just seven got through to the jump-off, while only five jumped clear again second time round.

Wachman’s time of 46.57 seconds was good enough for third place, but he was bettered by winner Harry Charles (GBR) on the nine-year-old Irish-bred stallion Bandit (ISH) (OBOS Quality 004 x Rockmount Sineen x Cruising Micky Finn), bred by Ted McKenna, in a very fast 43.76 seconds and runner-up Anne Kristine Truelsen (DEN) on Quemoy KT (44.86).

Speedy

Galway’s Michael Duffy and the nine-year-old stallion Baloys PS won the two-star Big Tour 1.45m Speed class on Friday from 50 starters, when they jumped clear in a super-fast time of 54.50 seconds. The next fastest time, ridden by French rider Guillaume Foutrier and Corneska de la Falize Z, was more than five seconds slower (59.75). Baloys PS is owned by GBBS International and Duffy has just recently taken over the ride.

Sven Hadley got the show off to a great start, when he rode HSH Harper du Seigneur to win Thursday’s one-star Medium Tour 1.20m two-phase Special from 51 starters, having previously been runner-up in the Youngster Tour Five and Six-year-old 1.15m/ 1.25m Two-phase Special with Maximum Numero Too HSH from a start list of 55.

Hadley was on a roll and placed second again in the one-star Big Tour 1.30m Two-phase class riding Uidam.

Friday saw Denis Lynch and Four Seasons place fifth of the 63 participants in the two-star Medium Tour 1.40m two-phase, while Hadley took first and third places in the one-star Big Tour 1.30m class with HSH Harper du Seigneur and Uidam respectively.

Cameron Hanley and Matricia placed fifth in the Youngster Tour Seven and eight-year-old 1.30m/ 1.35m class from 68 starters.

The one-star Medium Tour 1.20m class saw three Irish in the top six, led by Molly Taylor on Limitless, who won the class, followed by Lynch on Anchorman 5 in fifth place and Kiefer Dawson Stanley on Starlight in sixth.

Hadley on Maximum Numero Too HSH won the day’s Youngster Tour Five and six-year-old 1.15m/ 1.25m class, while Lynch placed fifth in the two-star Small Tour 1.35m class on Chicago.

Taylor on Limitless won Saturday’s one-star Small Tour 1.15m class, while Hadley was runner-up in the two-star Small Tour 1.40m Two-phase Special with Phenomene Bleu VDM and then won the concluding one-star Medium Tour 1.25m Two-phase Special class with Uidam, ahead of Lynch and Anchorman 5 in third.