NIAMH McEvoy put on some stunning performances this week at the Sunshine Tour Andalucia, taking first and second in her classes with BP Wonder and also winning three of the week’s top classes including two ranking classes, one with DHF Lift off on Sunday and the 1.45m Hipotels Trophy, with Templepatrick Welcome Limmerick (ISH) on Friday.

Starting the week off on a high, Ballypatrick Stables-based rider McEvoy also won the 1.40m class on Thursday with Jason Foley’s former ride My Diamant PD Z after finshing clear in a blistering 55.79 seconds, over two seconds faster than her nearest rival, Alvaro Castro Roman of Spain. The next best placed Irish rider in this class was Gabrielle Enwright, who finished 11th with Unreachable Z. My Diamant PD Z is an 11-year-old Zangersheide gelding by Mylord Carthago.

Also on Thursday, McEvoy finished 10th in the 1.35 class with the Holsteiner stallion SHS Soco Blue, ahead of next best placed Irish rider Oisin Dillon, who placed 13th with the Irish Sport Horse Ballybeg Loui (Luidam) bred by Seamus Leahy. McEvoy’s winning streak continued on Thursday in the 1.25m six-year-old class, when she went clear to finish joint first aboard BP Wonder, an Irish Sport Horse mare by Vigo Darsouilles STX.

Irish eyes were smiling again on Friday when Alice Wachman came third in the 1.30m class with Tsunami (Thunder VD Zuuthoeve) and her brother Tom finished fifth in the 1.40 with Cathalina S (Catoki), on whom he enjoyed recent wins at Brussels.

Back to business

McEvoy was back to business on Friday too, winning the the 1.45m Hipotels Trophy, with Templepatrick Welcome Limmerick (Limmerick x Lux Z), ahead of second placed Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida and Karonia L.

McEvoy bested the Portugese rider, finishing clear in 20.2 ahead of his 20.24. Third placed Cian O’Connor was just slightly slower with Maurice going clear in 21.33.

McEvoy’s second place finish with BP Wonder came in Saturday’s six-year-old 1.30 class, which was won by Inma Roquet Autonell and Dalia Del Maset. This pair finished clear in 28.12, with McEvoy just a hair’s breadth behind on 28.2.

Cian O’Connor and Casablanca H also featured on Saturday, going clear and placing seventh in the 1.35m class. O’Connor was also ninth in the 1.40m class with Clown of Picobello Z.

McEvoy was back to winning form again in Saturday afternoon’s 1.45, which she claimed aboard DHF Lift Off finishing clear in 63.54. Second in this class was Mexico’s Carlos Hank Guerreiro and H5 Chacco-San, clear in 65.83, ahead of third-placed fellow countryman Enrique Gonzalez and H5 Kontador VM, clear in 66.14. Fourth place went to Cian O’Connor and Fancy De Kergane, clear in 67.2.

On Sunday, McEvoy managed a fifth place finish in the 1.35 with a clear aboard My Diamant PD Z with O’Connor also clear and rounding out the top 10, again aboard Fancy De Kergane. First place in this class went to Argentinian Matías Alvaro and Gucci. Second was Spanish Luis Ortiz Agüera and Land Ho Mister Mars and third was Poland’s Andrzej Oplatek with Nordsturm 15.

McEvoy and BP Wonder were also back in the ribbons on Sunday in the six-year-old 1.30 class, finishing second when clear in 64.8. They were pipped to the post by US rider Moly Hay and Aliki Z, who finished in 64.43.

Niamh’s weekend ended with another solid performance in the 1.55m Clipmyhorse TV Grand Prix, in which she finished 10th with Templepatrick Welcome Limmerick after dropping one pole.

The German national anthem rang out across the Montenmedioin showground for the winner Jana Wargers and Rockwell RC. This superbly bred nine-year-old mare by Kannan won the coveted Grand Prix class in the grass David Broome arena in the only time under 40 seconds, 39.67, in what was a 12-horse jump-off.

Regular Tour rider, British Skye Higgin also had good results all week and topped them off with second place in the Grand Prix with DJordania du Tillard (Air Jordan x Diamant de Semilly). Third went to Spanish rider Pello Elorduy Ibarzabal with Champenoise de Rampan.

Jumping continues at the III Andalucía October Tour this weekend.