Britain’s Izzy Taylor returned home with two wins to her credit when a clear round in Sunday’s show jumping phase saw her add victory in The Irish Field CCI4* class to that in the Cooley Farm two-star competition at the Tattersalls international horse trials.
Taylor, who also won this class last year, had been lying in third with PSH Gazelle going into the final phase of the long-format class at the Co Meath venue. She put extra pressure on those ahead of her when jumping clear on the 11-year-old Flipper d’Elle mare, completing on her dressage score of 32.4 penalties.
Next in, Britain’s Michael Owen had a fence down and also picked up .4 of a time fault to drop to fifth with the Irish Sport Horse gelding Jims Pal (36.6) while the overnight leader, the USA’s Tim Coleman, also lowered one of the coloured poles to drop to third with the ISH gelding Off The Record (35.5).
Benefitting from their errors, New Zealand’s Dan Jocelyn moved up to second from fourth when clear with another ISH gelding, Blackthorn Chase (32.9) while local rider Elizabeth Power also left all the poles intact to improve two places to fourth with Samuel Thomas II (36.5). Power, like Taylor, completed on her dressage score with Sue Chadwick and Komfi Ltd’s 15-year-old ISH gelding.
In the short-format George Mernagh Memorial four-star class, where they completed on their cross-country phase on Sunday, the top three from day one remained there to the end.
The winner, on a penalty score of 27.1, was New Zealand’s Tim Price, the new world No 1 rider, with the grey mare Ascona M. Japan’s Kazuma Tomoto finished second on Vinci de la Vigne (29.8) ahead of Britain’s Alexander Bragg with Zagreb (29.9). Carlow’s Sam Watson, a member of Ireland’s silver medal-winning team at last year’s World Equestrian Games, finished best of the Irish in fourth with Vahe Bogossian’s dun ISH gelding, Tullabeg Flamenco (39.1).
Taylor also made the podium in the Eventing Ireland CCI3*-L with Fonbherna Lancer (26.30) but here had to settle for third behind the winner, her compatriot, William Fox-Pitt riding Georgisaurous (20.5) and New Zealand’s James Avery with the ISH gelding Aloha (23.9). All three completed on their dressage scores. Best of the Irish in sixth was Co Cork’s Brian Morrison riding the ISH gelding Global Orchid (28.3).
Galway native Cathal Daniels, another member of the silver medal-winning WEG team, went into Sunday’s concluding show jumping phase of the Connolly’s Red Mills CCI3* class for riders 25 in the top two places.
The Kildare-based rider was under pressure to remain there when the third-place rider, Britain’s Sam Ecroyd, jumped clear with the ISH gelding Tullaher Sunrise (27.8). Daniels was also faultless with LEB Lias Jewel to remain on his dressage score of 27.7 but had an expensive pole down with OLS King Aragon (30) which saw him finish sixth on that ISH gelding. Britain’s Laura Schroter moved up from fourth to third when completing on her dressage score with Zorro Rocco (28).
LEB Lias Jewel, a nine-year-old mare by Limmerick, was bred in Co Waterford by her owner, Jo Breheny, who presented Daniels with the Laura Breheny trophy which Jo and her husband Neil donated for the leading Irish rider in this class in memory of their daughter Laura who died in 2009. Laura rode in the Junior class here three years previously. Daniels, who is heading to Bramham in England this weekend to compete in a four-star class for riders under 25 with his WEG mount, Rioghan Rua, was also the overall leading Irish rider at this year’s Tattersalls international horse trials.
