Cian O’Connor – Irish Sport Horse Magazine

What a Show the RDS Dublin Horse Show 2019 was for Irish Riders and Irish Showjumping. This is one of the most prestigious International Horse Shows on the Irish Calendar and it attracts Elite Equestrians from all around the globe and 2019 was no different. Dublin Horse Show Wednesday 7th August 2019. The Dublin Horse Show got off to an Epic Start for the Irish on Wednesday 7th of August with Cormac Hanley and the Heathman Farm-owned Copain Z taking the opening competition, the Speed Stakes, while fellow Irish man Anthony Condon on Zira V Kapelhof Z took the runner up slot. The Minerva Stakes by Dublin Airport Central, saw another prominent Irish Rider take the top spot, when Cian O’Connor and Diego stormed their way to victory, with Ireland’s Gerard O’Neill on Jack Van Het Dennehof taking 3rd place. The Sport Ireland Classic, saw Paul O’Shea and the Tequestrian Farms-owned Imerald Van’t Voorhof take 1st Place, with the first 6 placing being filled by Irish Riders, 2nd was Darragh Kenny and Romeo 88, 3rd was Susan Fitzpatrick and Fellow Castlefield, 4th was Shane Sweetnam and Kirschwasser SCF, 5th was Richard Howley and Chinook and 6th was Shane Breen and Golden Hawk. Also on Day 1 in the 6 Year Old 1.30m Class by Horse Sport Ireland, the top three finishes were as follows; 1st Jason Foley on Dawsons Flex; 2nd Tim Page on Hillcoote Border Fox; and 3rd Clem Mc Mahon on TJM Amour Fou . For more results on this class check Longines Website Here>> In the first round of the International 7 year old 1.40m Class by LHK Insurance, Irish Riders took up 5 of the first 6 placings; 1st Denis Lynch on Cornets Iberio; 2nd Edward Doyle Jnr on Mullaghdrin Limber; 3rd Francis Connors on Erne Mountain Dew; 4th John Mulligan on Sliabh Papillon Breaker; and 6th Philip Carey on Kamiro D. For More Results on This Class Check out the Longines Website Here>> In the Young Rider Class the top 3 placings were as follows; 1st Jack Brennan on MHS Central Park; 2nd Olivia Roulston on Erico; and 3rd Hannah O’Shea on Ciao Bella. For more results Check the Longines Website Here>> While in the first round of the International 8 year old 1.45m Class by LHK Insurances Irish Riders again took the win, and 2 riders in the top 6 placings. Jack Ryan on Essenar High Hopes took the win with Captain Geoff Curran taking 4th place on HHS Clinstown. For more results Check the Longines Site Here>> Dublin Horse Show Thursday 8th August 2019 The following day Thursday 8th August also saw Irish Riders reach glittering heights, in the Speed Derby by the Clay Hotel Ballsbridge. Irish Riders not only took the first 2 placings but 5 Irish Riders featured in the top 6. 1st Mark McAuley on Miebello; 2nd Cian O’Connor and Diego; 4th Elizabeth Power and Doonaverragh O One; 5th Shane Breen and Can Ya Makan; and 6th Cormac Hanley and Copain Z. For More Results Check the Longines Site Here>> In Thursday’s 1.50m – 1.60m Stablelab Stakes again Irish Riders were featuring well with 3 of our Riders in the top 6. Although first place went to America’s McLain Ward on Noche De Ronda, Ireland’s Denis Lynch and GC Chopin’s Bushi took 2nd Place with 3rd place going to Shane Breen and Ipswich Van De Wolfsakker again for Ireland, while Ireland’s Capt Brian Cournane and Armik took 5th place. For more results on this class check the Longines Site Here>> In the Centeneray Stakes – Battle of the Sexes, which took place on Thursday Evening, an Irish Rider again took the win, Bertram Allen took 1st place on GK Casper, while Ireland’s Darragh Kenny finished in 7th Place with Babalou 41. For more results on this Class Check Longines Site Here>> Another Popular Class on the Thursday is the Young Event Horse Class, as these classes attract many foreign buyers for Ireland’s super Event Horse Stock. In the 4 year old Class, the top 3 placings were as follows; 1st Louise Codd and Future News; 2nd Ian Cassells and Loughtown Bonnie; 3rd Alice Coppithorne and Reenmore Riley. For more results on the 4yo Class Check Longines Site Here>> In the 5 year old young Event Horse Class the top 3 were as follows: 1st Michael Ryan and Claragh Olala; 2nd Steven Smith and MMF Churchill; and 3rd Jessica O’Driscoll and Shanaclough Quality Clover. For More 5 y o Results Check Dublin Horse Show Here>> Also in the Young Event Horse Category there is the Junior/Young Rider Event Horse Class, and our Irish European Under 18 Showjumping Champion made it a 1, 2 for this class taking 1st and 2nd position on two of Carol Gee’s horses; The top 3 results were 1st Kate Derwin on Fernhill Cruiseaway; 2nd Kate Derwin on Fernhill Candy Crush; and 3rd Alice Whyte on Ardagh Epic. For more results on this class Check Dublin Horse Show Here>> Dublin Horse Show Friday 9th August 2019 On Friday 9th of August, the Irish continued to perform well. In the 2nd Round of the 7 year old International 1.40m Class by LHK Insurance the Irish featured very well, the top 3 placings going to Irish Riders were; 1st Denis Lynch and Cornets Iberio; 2nd Dermott Lennon and Athletix Hero Z (ET); and 3rd Jack Ryan and BBS McGregor. For More Results Check the Longines Site Here>> In the 2nd Round of the 8 year old International 1.45m Class by LHK Insurance, again our Irish Riders took 3 of the top 6 placings; 2nd Steven Smith and Gradje O; 4th Bertram Allen and Lafayette Van Overis; 5th Michael Pender and HHS Geneva. For the Results Line up Check Longines Site Here>> For the Big Class on the Friday The Aga Khan Cup or The Longines FEI Nations Cup of Ireland, the Irish Team did us proud. A spectacular Performance from Paul O’Shea and Skara Glen’s Machu Picchu was instrumental in helping Ireland to a 3rd place finish, with just one fence separating Ireland and Italy who took 2nd place. The Irish Team Comprised of Cian O’Connor and PSG Final; Paul O’Shea and Skara Glen’s Machu Picchu; Shane Sweetnam and Chaqui Z; and Darragh Kenny and Important De Muze. However Team GB proved hard to beat on the day with a close to perfect score finishing on just 1 time fault. The strong finish for Ireland has meant that we are now lying in 3rd Position in the Longines Nations Cup Rankings out of 10 teams. For More Results on the Nations Cup Check Longines Here>> Dublin Horse Show Saturday 10th August 2019 On Saturday 10th of August there were 3 main Competitions, the Land Rover Puissance being the big one. In the 1.45m Royal Dublin Society Stakes by Theraplate Ireland, the Irish not only took the win, but had 3 Irish Riders in the top 6 placings. 1st Elizabeth Power and Doonaveragh O One; 4th Mark McAuley and Miebello; and 5th Gerard O’Neill and Castlefield Vegas. For More Results on this Competition >> In the 1.50m Class the Longines Dublin Stakes again the Irish were in fine form, not only did one of our riders win the class, but we had 3 Irish Riders in the top 6. 1st Mark McAuley and Utchan De Belheme; 4th Shane Breen and Golden Hawk; and 5th Bertram Allen and Harley V. Bisschop. For the Results line up of this Class Check Longines Site Here>>. The Puissance Wall was the Big Class on Saturday 10th August and although the Irish didn’t take the win, we still had 3 Riders tie for 2nd Place. 1st Place went to Mathieu Billot of France on Dassler, clearing the wall at 2.15m; while three Irish Riders were among those that tied for 2nd Place, Richard Howley and Notis Me; Nano Healy and KMS Clintland; and Michael Pender and Hearton Du Bois Halleux. For the results line up of this Class, check Longines Site Here>> Dublin Horse Show Sunday 11th August 2019 On Sunday 11th August, there were 4 big classes and again the Irish were in top form. In the final of 1.40m International 7 year old horse by LHK Insurance, Ireland took the first 2 spots and 5 of the first 6 placings; 1st Denis Lynch and Cornets Iberio; 2nd Dermott Lennon and Athletix Hero Z (ET); 3rd place went to Sweden’s Angelie von Essen and Happiness DK Z; 4th Michael Pender and HHS Javas Gucci; 5th Jack Ryan and BBS McGregor; 6th Jason Foley and Madorada DW. For the Results Line up check Longines Site Here In the final of 1.45m International 8 year old horse by LHK Insurance, we had 3 Irish Riders in the top 6. Lorenzo De Luca took the win for Italy with Bellisima Ter Wilgen Z; while the Irish took 2nd James Hogg on Intuitive; 4th Bertram Allen and Layfayette Van Overis; and 6th Jack Ryan and Essenar High Hopes. For the Results Line Up Check Longines>> In the 1.45m-1.50m Speed Championship, the Irish again gave super performances taking 3 of the top 6 placings. Angelie von Essen of Sweeden took the win with Tiger; 2nd Steve Guerdat of Switzerland on Victorio Des Frotards; 3rd for Ireland, Anthony Condon and Zira V. Kapelhof Z; 4th for Ireland Greg Broderick and Westbrook; 5th for Ireland Mark McAuley and Miebello; 6th for Italy Emilio Bicocchi and Flinton. For more results on this class Check Longines Site Here>> The Big Class of Sunday 11th of August was the Longines Grand Prix. This class is one of the most lucrative Showjumping Classes in World with a prize fund of €350,000. The Irish once again were in Superb Form and not only did we take the win, but we had 3 Irish Riders in the Top 6 placings and 5 Riders in the Top 12! An incredible performance from Ireland’s Shane Breen and Ipswich Van De Wolfsakker saw them take the win; 2nd Great Britain’s Scott Brash and Hello Jefferson; 3rd Italy’s Lorenzo De Luca and Dinky Toy V. Kranenburg; 4th Ireland’s Susan Fitzpatrick and Fellow Castlefield; 5th Ireland’s Richard Howley and Chinook; 6th Great Britain’s Ben Maher and Tic Tac. For the Results Line Up Check Longines Site Here>> This concludes ISH Magazine’s Report, summing up a spectacular Dublin Horse Show 2019 for Irish Showjumping Riders. To Grab the Latest Issue of Irish Sport Horse Magazine head over to our Magazine Page>