Canadian course designer Peter Grant set the track for the evening’s competition, where 15 horse-and-rider combinations from an international field jumped clear in the opening round.

The jump-off came down to a battle between Coyle and American Aaron Vale, who each qualified their two mounts for the short course.

In the end, it was Coyle and Farrel that stopped the clock in an unbeatable 37.24 seconds to take the victory.

Vale was runner-up with Obi Wan in 38.07 seconds, with Coyle also taking third with 14-year-old Quintin, in a time of 38.52 seconds, while Vale claimed fourth with Prescott in 39.74 seconds.

Winning rider Daniel Coyle said:

“On Farrel, you can turn on half a stride. He’s an amazing horse to turn back to a vertical. He’s very handy. Turning back so tight to the second to last jump, that’s all to do with the horse there. Aaron [Vale] would have done the same thing. We both took risks, but at the end it comes back to the horse and if you can nail it

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One of only four riders to jump clear in the opening round, Sweetnam jumped another clear round in the jump-off in a time of 43.85 seconds, partnering his Aga Khan winning mount James Kann Cruz, an Irish Sport Horse owned by Gizmo Partners LLC.

Israel’s Daniel Bluman riding Ladriano Z won the class, finishing narrowly ahead of Sweetnam in a time of 43.24 seconds. American rider Karl Cook and Kalinka Van’t Zorgvliet finished third.

Earlier this week Sweetnam won the 1.45m ranking class on Friday evening with 14-year-old gelding Alejandro.

Wexford native Bertram Allen had a double. Allen won the 1.45m ranking class with the 9-year-old gelding Edison De Hus, owned by Ballywalter Stables and Maximillan Lill, on Wednesday and the 1.55m ranking class with his Tokyo Olympic and World Championship mount, the Irish Sport Horse Pacino Amiro, owned by Aiden McGrory, on Thursday.

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Galway’s Andrew Bourns and The Irish Sport Horse Sea Topblue claimed the top prize while Louth’s Mark McAuley finished second aboard Jasco VD Bisschop.

From the 44 starters, 14 jumped clear to make it into the second round. The early pacesetter was Belgian Olympian Nicola Philippaerts and his own Moya VD Bisschop. They were second to go in the jump-off and set the time to beat at 39.25 seconds. The combination would eventually finish third, just ahead of Hector Florentino (DOM) in fourth with The Irish Sport Horse ABC Quantum Cruise.

Mark McAuley and Jasco VD Bisschop finish second

Nine horses after Philippaerts, WEF newcomer Mark McAuley and Jasco VD Bisschop, lowered the target time to 38.94 seconds.

“I didn’t really know what to expect,” McAuley admitted. “My horse was a bit tense and spooky when he went into the ring, a little bit overwhelmed, but he manned up quite well. I was quite proud of him actually.”

McAuley has ridden Jasco vd Bisschop since the horse was seven years old, and it has become his top horse. The pair represented Ireland in the 2021 European Championships.”

“He’s been my best horse for the last few years, the Louth man admitted, “obviously I’ll be aiming him now for the five-star here in a fortnight’s time.”

As the final entry in the jump-off, Bourns was able to squeak by his fellow Irishman and stop the timers in 38.76 seconds for a great win.

“I had a plan made for the jump-off and went in a little bit the mindset that I have a lot I still want to do with this horse this year so if it was fast enough, great, but I had a plan and was going to stick to it,” said Bourns of his jump-off ride.

It was a special win for Bourns on this horse that means so much to his family. The 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding by Chacco-blue has been with the Bourns since Andrew’s mother, the late Deirdre Bourns, bought him as a foal at an auction in Cavan.

The winner said with a smile, “This is probably his biggest win to date and one of mine too, so I’m pretty happy about that.”

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The Michael Blake-managed team of Shane Sweetnam, Bertram Allen, Michael Duffy and Cian O’Connor produced six clear rounds.

The hosts won the $150,000 four-star Nations Cup, the main class this weekend at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida.

Cork’s Shane Sweetnam got Ireland off to a perfect clear round start with Karlin Van’t Vennehof.

A second clear followed for Wexford’s Bertram Allen with The Irish Sport Horse Castlefield Vegas. Then Galway’s Michael Duffy and Zilton SL Z produced a foot perfect round.

Another clear soon followed from Meath’s anchor Cian O’Connor with Cadiz. This left Ireland on a perfect zero score in the lead at the halfway stage.

The home team from USA was close behind in second on just a time fault with Israel third on four faults. Brazil were next best on eight faults with Canada and Britain on 12 faults.  Mexico and Colombia finished round one on 20 faults.

Second Round

In the second round, Shane Sweetnam with Karlin Van’t Vennehof kept Ireland in control by completing a double clear performance.

Bertram Allen and Castlefield Vegas (ISH) finished with four faults before Michael Duffy and Zilton SL Z also completed with a single fence down.

An excellent second round performance from the USA saw them add nothing to their first round score and even another Irish clear from Cian O’Connor as anchor rider with Cadiz, couldn’t deny the home team victory.

USA win Nations Cup

The NetJets U.S. Jumping Team of Lillie Keenan aboard Fasther and Brian Moggre with Balou De Reventon. Bliss Heers on Antidote De Mars and Jessica Springsteen riding Don Juan Van Donkhoeve were the other US combinations. The team finished on just a time fault with Ireland second on four faults.

Brazil were third on 14 with Israel fourth on 16 faults. Canada came fifth on 20, Britain completed with 24 faults for sixth place. Colombia (29 faults) were seventh while Mexico finished eighth on 33 faults.

The winning  team were presented with the Denis Quinlan Memorial Trophy.  Denis, who passed away in September 2020, was originally from Co Limerick before moving to Wellington, Florida, and was instrumental in starting Nations Cup jumping in Florida and in supporting Irish riders.

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Corkman Sweetnam beat off a world class field to score a superb victory in Saturday $401,000 Douglas Elliman Real Estate five-star Grand Prix.

Sweetnam and Alejandro, a 12-year-old gelding, won after a stunning jump-off round when last to go against the clock.

Switzerland’s world number two Martin Fuchs and his 2018 world championship individual silver medalist mount, Clooney 51, had held the lead with a clear round in 37.16 seconds. However Sweetnam crossed the line in 37.03 seconds after a daring gallop to the last fence to take victory.

American Devin Ryan and Eddie Blue finished third with a clear in 38.74 seconds. Wexford’s Bertram Allen and The Irish Sport Horse Pacino Amiro were sixth with one fence down against the clock in 37.18 seconds.

Final Results: $401,000 Douglas Elliman Real Estate Grand Prix CSI5*

1. Alejandro and Shane Sweetnam 0/0/37.03
2. Clooney 51 and Martin Fuchs 0/0/37.16
3. Eddie Blue and Devin Ryan 0/0/38.74

O’Connor wins on Sunday

Cian O’Connor and the 10-year-old gelding Careca LS Elite won Sunday’s $50,000 Restylane two-star Grand Prix.

Seven of the 44 starters made it through to the second round. O’Connor, despite being first to go in the jump-off led from start to finish with his clear in 45.65 seconds proving unbeatable.

Canada’s Rachel Cornacchia and Valkyrie De Talma were second, two-hundredths of a second behind the winner. Jennifer Waxman of the USA and Mecho Van’t Kiezelhof finished third in 46.07 seconds.

The Olympic individual bronze medalist who has represented Ireland in 15 international championships has a string of up-and-coming horses at WEF this season with a very specific goal in mind for the 2021 season.

O’Connor will continue to campaign for the duration of WEF. He is also training students at the elite level, including Canadian Nicole Walker and up-and-coming Irish riders Max and Tom Wachman, grandsons of Coolmore owner John Magnier.

Final Results: $50,000 Restylane Grand Prix CSI2*

1. Careca’s LS Elite and Cian O’Connor 0/0/45.65
2. Valkyrie De Talma and Rachel Cornacchia 0/0/45.67
3. Mecho Van’t Kiezelhof and Jennifer Waxman 0/0/46.07

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One of nine combinations in the jump-off, Mayo-born Gordon crossed the line clear in 36.63 seconds to win.

He has almost a second to spare over Dutch runner-up Sanne Thijssen with Con Quidam DB. Third place went to Italy’s Antonio Alfonso and Charmie.

Winter Equestrian Festival

In the USA, Co Down’s Conor Swail and GK Coco Chanel finished third in the three-star $137,000 Restylane Grand Prix in Flordia.

British Olympic team gold medallist Ben Maher and the 18-year-old stallion Tic Tac won the competition. The English rider had just one one-hundredth of a second to spare from Canadian Eric Lamaze with Fine Lady 5.

Offaly’s Darragh Kenny and Emmerton were eight in the same class, going clear in the jump-off in a time of 46.65 seconds.

On Saturday, at the WEF, Irish riders took 4 places in the top-five in the $37,000 FEI CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m Classic.

Shane Sweetnam and Ideal were second to McLain Ward and Contaigous. Cork’s Sweetnam also took third place with Indra Van De Oude Heihof. Bertram Allen and Giolita were fourth, with Darragh Kenny and Vinci De Beaufort came fifth.

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In a starting field of 78 entries, a total of 12 returned for the jump-off.

In the second round, many combinations opted to do nine strides to the final fence on course, but Allen and the gelding owned by Aiden McGregory moved swiftly in eight strides to fly over the final oxer and cross the finish line in 39.72 seconds.

“I thought it was a good, tough class, and it was quite a long track in the jump-off,” Bertram Allen said. “My guy is a little bit inexperienced; you could see that at the start of the jump-off but the more he went, the better he got. I could use his big stride in the big arena, so it worked well for me. He’s only nine so he’s only stepping up to this level but he’s a very genuine, kind horse that’s always trying do the right thing.”

Allen will continue to campaign at WEF for the remainder of the winter circuit with his focus on the talented young gelding to continue to develop in international competition.

“Obviously there’s not much happening in Europe, so we said we’d come over here again,” Allen said. “We were here last year, and we’re just going to take it week by week. Pacino Amiro is probably going to be my best horse, so I’ll just try to develop him up to the CSI5* shows hopefully.”

Michael Duffy also qualified for the jump-off. Unfortunately in round two, Duffy and Zilton SL Z had four faults in a time of 39.98 seconds. The result was good enough for seventh place.

$37,000 Adequan® WEF Challenge Cup Result

1. Pacino Amiro and Bertram Allen 0/0/39.72

2. Anna Jo and Paris Sellon 0/0/40.77

3. Chacna and Enrique Gonzalez 0/0/42.40

7. Zilton SL Z and Michael Duffy 0/4/39.98

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Darragh Kenny scored a victory in the $137,000 Horseware Ireland Grand Prix CSI3* on Saturday at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington, Florida.

Canadian course designer Michel Vaillancourt built a track for 45 starters with 12 advancing to the tie-breaking jump-off. Returning near the end of the jump-off round, Kenny and Scarlett du Sart Z stopped the clock at 33.54 seconds to claim the lead and relegate Israel’s Sydney Shulman down to the runner-up position. Shulman and J-Boston S.E. posted a time of 33.96 seconds.

“I’ve been very lucky – I had a good winter and all the horses went very well,” said Kenny of his season at WEF. “I had a great feeling coming into this winter because I have an incredible group of horses, and I’m very lucky that I have those horses.”

Kenny got the ride on Scarlett du Sart Z, a 10-year-old Zangersheide mare, during the horse’s seven-year-old year. He has high hopes for the mare’s future, saying, “This is a mare that Teddy Vlock and his owner bought for me, and we’ve been slowly producing her. She’s really starting to turn a corner, and I think she’s an incredibly talented horse that will end up jumping at the highest level.”

At the Palm Beach Masters, which are also taking place in Florida, Co Down’s Conor Swail and GK Coco Chanel finished as runners-up in Saturday’s $137,000 CSI5* Palm Beach Masters Classic.

Last to go in a 12-horse jump-off, Swail finished just behind British winner Emily Moffitt with Tipsy du Terral. Billy Twomey (Kimba Flamenco) and Darragh Kenny (Billy Dorito) also made it into the jump-off and finished in ninth and tenth places respectively.

Bertram Allen clinched the $37,000 Douglas Elliman Real Estate 1.45m CSI3* riding Lafayette van Overis on Wednesday at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington, Florida.

Allen continued a streak of 1.45m victories at WEF with another win over tracks set by Michel Vaillancourt. Seventy horses contested the two-phase course, but Allen and his quick gelding could not be caught. They stopped the clock at 32.68 seconds, which proved to be less than a half a second faster than runner-up Natalie Dean (USA) riding Ceitasi (32.68 seconds), with Derry rider Jordan Coyle rounding out the top-three in a time of 32.70 seconds aboard Picador.

“He was very relaxed, and straight away won this easily,” said Allen of his Ballywalter Stables-owned mount. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to go full speed, but because it was a two phase, I could see how he was feeling and he felt very good.

“He is so naturally fast,” continued Allen. “There were people doing more galloping or less strides, but I did not want to do that with him today. I thought I would do as good a round as I could, and see where that left us. Because he’s so fast, he was able to get out on top.”

Meanwhile Offaly’s Darragh Kenny claimed the $6,000 Bainbridge Companies 1.40m riding Cicomein VDL in the International Arena.

Derry’s Jordan Coyle and Eristov raced to victory in the five-star $89,500 Palm Beach Masters qualifier, while Cork’s Billy Twomey finished third with Lady Lou just ahead of Wexford’s Bertram Allen and Gun Powder in fourth.

There was also an Irish win for Stephen Moore and Team de Coquerie in the $36,600 CSI2* Bruins Tour Challenge, the final event of the inaugural Sunset Challenge at the 2020 Palm Beach Masters Series.

Moore and the 13-year-old gelding crossed the timers of Alan Wade’s 1m45 shortened track in 37.24 seconds, beating Eve Jobs (USA) and Valentino Tuiliere on 38.37 seconds and Beat Mändli (SUI) and Dibatsja on 38.96 seconds.

Tipperary’s Denis Lynch and GC Chopin’s Bushi took victory in last Friday’s three-star 1m50 jump-off at Dortmund Show while Co Clare’s Eoin McMahon was also in the prizes, taking third place with Chacon 2.

Irish Dressage rider Heike Holstein and the Irish-bred mare Sambuca took sixth place in the Grand Prix in Dortmund. Holstein scored 70.571% with victory going to Germany’s Ingrid Klimke with Franziskus on a score of 75.217%.

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The two-phase class produced 20 double clears within the 48-second time allowed over the course designed by Brazilian Anderson Lima. Allen’s time bested the field in 31.46 second, just fractions faster than runner-up Erynn Ballard of Canada riding Canora Z, in a time of 31.66 seconds.

There were three nations represented on the final podium, with USA home rider Peter Lutz riding Excellent to third in 31.68 seconds. Fellow U.S. rider Todd Minikus finished fourth on Amex Z in 33.06 seconds, while Kerry-born Capt. Brian Cournane capped the tap five in 33.55 seconds riding Colourful Lady.

Of the Quidam’s Rubin gelding 16-year-old gelding, winning rider Allen said:

“I had Quiet Easy a few years ago, then he was sold to Norway and I only recently got him back. I really like him and I’ve known him a long time. This was one of my first classes back with him, and he’s really fresh, so it’s lovely to have him back. The owner didn’t have so much for him to do, so they said they’d send him back to me if I could retire him when he was finished. He’s nearing the end of his career now, so it’s nice to just enjoy him.”

Allen, who is based in Germany, will be flying back and forth to compete the three horses he has in Florida, as well as riding his remaining string back in Europe.

Final Results $6,000 Bainbridge Companies 1.40m CSI4*

1 Quiet Easy 4 and Bertram Allen (IRL), 0/0/31.46 seconds.
2 Canora Z and Erynn Ballard (CAN), 0/0/31.66 seconds.
3 Excellent and Peter Lutz (USA), 0/0/31.68 seconds.
4 Amex Z and Todd Minikus (USA), 0/0/33.06 seconds.
5 Colourful Lady and Capt. Brian Cournane (IRL), 0/0/33.55 seconds.

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