Kürten and Twomey dominate in Barcelona

SHOW jumpers Jessica Kürten and Billy Twomey continued their dominance of the four-star show in Barcelona, Spain, at the weekend, claiming a one-two, respectively, in Saturday’s grand prix, while the Cork man also ended his show with a hat-trick.

The Irish pair were among 11 into the jump-off of the grand prix, but it was Antrim rider Kürten on the nine-year-old Castle Forbes Cosma who won the €30,000 car, relegating Twomey to runner-up on Sue Davies’s Tinka’s Serenade.

Kürten came close to making it a double later with Castle Forbes Myrtille Paulois, but she was beaten to the top spot in the Queen’s Cup by Austrian Thomas Fruhmann and The Sixth Sense.

Twomey’s opener came on Thursday when, with Michael Connaughton’s Irish-bred Cavalier Royale mare Cavinem, he shared victory with Briton William Whitaker. He followed up with victory in the day’s main class on Montanus Colorado, and it was Camilla Berger’s 12-year-old grey gelding that garnered him his third win yesterday in a speed class.

For good measure the Cheshire-based 32-year-old finished runner-up with Cavinem in an accumulator contest.

Barcelona yesterday staged the final of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup Promotional Leauge, with victory going to the home team over second-placed Canada. Spain registered only four faults over the two rounds while the Canadians picked up 16 in total and both are now destined to join the elite Meydan Nations Cup series next year.

At Necarne Castle Horse Trials, Irish riders also dominated, with their British rivals taking a back seat. Jayne Doherty and The Only One claimed the CCI two-star, adding just four penalties to her dressage score to complete on 47.4 penalties, while the CIC two-star went to Louise Codd, who finished on her dressage tally of 50.90pens on Westwinds El Divo.

Louise Bloomer and GFG Hollybrook Sky High led an Irish whitewash in the CCI one-star, coming home in 50.1pens, while home supremacy in the CIC one-star saw Stuart Crawford and Amacuzzi to the fore on 56.7pens.