COMMANDANT Geoff Curran was the best-performing Irish rider at the inaugural WBFSH Studbooks Jumping Global Champions Trophy last week, a highly-anticipated competition which brought together some of the world’s finest studbooks in a unique showdown blending traditional show jumping and team challenges to rank those studbooks after five days of jumping.

Comdt. Curran completed a successful week finishing first in the eight-year-old final with DHF Alliance, owned by the Minister For Defence and Jessica Stallard, and bred by Paul Douglas, after also topping both qualifiers in the class with this Ard VDL Douglas x Lux Z mare.

The Irish Sport Horse looked on track to take the title coming into the team final as highest ranked after two qualifiers and with Comdt. Curran’s individual clear, but it all fell apart when Paddy O’Donnell and WEC Mermus Rua (Mermus R x Abalou Verte), who were sixth in the second qualifier, finished on 20 penalties and Jonathan Gordon and CBI Karhari (Goodluck VDL x Kroongraaf), who were second in the first qualifier, added eight.

WEC Mermus Rua is owned by Patrick Peare and was bred by Ray Brown, and CBI Karhari is owned by Denis Gallagher and was bred by Aidan Carroll.

Top honours in the team final for eight-year-olds went to Westfalisches Pferdestammbuch who finished on eight faults in 226.04, just a second faster than Zangersheide. Third place went to the Danish Warmblood studbook.

Seven-year-olds

On Sunday, the Irish Sport Horse finished sixth in the seven-year-old team final with the KWPN, Anglo European and Selle Francais studbook filling out the podium.

The Irish entered this final in fourth on 505 points with the best qualifying result by Paraic Kenny and his own Bennys Lass (Tullibards Bennys Legacy x Nad Elshiba) who finished third in the first qualifier and Michael Duffy and Curraghgraigue Jack Bro (Orestus x Errigal Flight) who were third in the second qualifier.

Unfortunately, Kenny had 12 faults in the final and Duffy had four, with final team combination Alfie Bradstock and Shannondale Anzac (Shannondale Sarco St Ghyvan x Lux Z) adding eight for a team total of 24. Four faults was enough to deliver Duffy into 10th place individually, however.

Bennys Lass was bred by Thomas Hutchinson. Curraghgraigue Jack Bro is owned and bred by Baden Powell, and Shannondale Anzac is owned by Mimi Falb and was bred by Martin Walsh.

Selle Francais looked on track to take the crown in this class until two down from their last to go handed the win to KWPN.

Six-year-olds

The Irish Sport Horse studbook finished seventh in six-year-old team final after finishing the qualifiers in third on 548 points, with the Belgium Warmblood, Danish Warmblood and Anglo European Studbooks taking the podium placings here.

Best of the Irish qualifying performances here were Oisin Aylward and ESI Indigo (Dakar VDL x Guidam), owned and bred by Ennisnag Stud, who were sixth in the first qualifier, and John Mulligan and Kathleens Candy Clover (by Sligo Candy Boy), owned by Bernard Reynolds and bred by Kathleen O’Reilly, who were sixth in the second qualifier.

In the team final, Richard Kerins and RSK Quality Cruise (O.B.O.S. Quality x Cruising), owned by his wife Susanne Kerins and bred by Charlie McElhinney had a pole down, Mulligan had two, as did Robert Splaine and his home-bred Coolcorron Lone Rangers (Tyson x Slyguff Joker VII) to leave the Irish on a team total of 20 and Kerins as the best placed Irish individual in eighth.

Five-year-olds

The Irish Sport Horse team were ranked fifth after the five-year-old final, with the Hannoveraner Verband, Zangersheide, and Anglo European studbooks taking the podium places here. It was a dramatic final as it fell apart for favourites Selle Francais having led the five-year old category all week.

Individually, Richard Kerins and Realteens Orestus (Orestus VDL x Cruising), owned and bred by Jennifer Crowley and Sean Keyes, were the best of the Irish qualifiers with two clear rounds and they carried that form into the final with another clear to finish among the 10 combinations who shared the top prize money as this class was not jumped against the clock.

Team member Stephen Gibbons and Ceide Candy Heart (Garryduff Jar of Hearts x Sligo Candy Boy), owned by Jane Gibbons and bred by Mary Walsh, had two poles down and Kian Dore and Cape Tribulation (Womanizer x Cruising, owned by Edel Dore and bred by Peter Killeen) had one giving a five-year-old team total of 12.

Outstanding

Chef d’equipe Taylor Vard said the new format brought challenges and opportunities but was one the Irish team enjoyed and looked forward to taking on again next year. “Geoff’s mare was absolutely outstanding to jump three times and win three times,” he told The Irish Field.

“We were not expecting the teams to start on a zero score on day three, which after jumping two to three days straight didn’t suit us because we had so many clears in the initial stages and then it fell apart a bit in the finals. The teams who were ranked lower jumped first in the final and did better on the third day than the higher ranked teams. It is a new concept, with new rules, they have now been tested and there was a lot to like so I’m sure we’ll come better prepared next year.

“There was great team spirit, a lot of owners travelled over and the atmosphere was electric. It was difficult to choose three riders for each final, but this show gave riders an opportunity they might not have had, especially young riders like Kian Dore (15) and Stephen Gibbons (16) who got to ride alongside very senior riders like Robert Splaine.”