Twomey’s Madrid masterclass
His performance as anchor man with Tinka’s Serenade also saved Ireland’s blushes, moving the team up two places to seventh going into today’s final team round and, more importantly, into one of the three Olympic qualifying slots available.
Twomey’s masterclass saw him savour one of only nine clear rounds over an unforgiving course that quickly revealed itself to Irish pathfinder Shane Sweetnam, who failed to match his opening day clear and ended with eight faults on Amaretto D’Arco.
It was another disappointing day for Nicola FitzGibbon and Puissance, who again knocked two fences in the treble, before going on to complete on 21 faults.
The water played an important part in the contest and Lantinus was one of those to pick up faults, before knocking a pole near the end and also clocking up a time penalty for nine faults.
The result leaves Ireland sharing one of the three Olympic slots with sixth-place Sweden and the Netherlands, who moved into pole position yesterday.
However, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal are on the heals of the Irish.
Only 10 countries contest today’s final round, with Sunday seeing the top 25 riders compete for the individual medals.
lARMY rider Captain Brian Curran-Cournane earned 55.4 penalties for his dressage yesterday in the three-star class at the Johnson and Perrott Land Rover International Horse Trials in Ballindenisk, Co Cork, and was frank in hoping the competition would not be decided by the first phase. The Kerry rider was on board Dunran Castle and he confessed the 11-year-old gelding was never at his best before the dressage judges... though he is getting better.
“Dressage is always a challenge with him,” he said, nodding in the direction of the bay after he had dismounted. “But I’ve learned so much from him as a result and he is improving all the time. He was third here last year and scored 56 penalties, but went on to jump clear in both cross-country and show jumping, so you never know.
“They’ve made a few alterations to the cross-country course, so it’s a little bit tougher and there is plenty to cause problems, so hopefully, there will be enough questions on the course to ensure it is not determined by the dressage,” said the Glenbeigh native, who also has hopes for Rosbeigh in the two-star.
Curran-Cournane’s performance left him 16th of the 32 competitors in a competition that has attracted a quality field due to its Olympic qualifying status.
Unsurprisingly, then, to find Britain superstar William Fox-Pitt heading the leaderboard with the Irish-bred Avoca Alibi on 43.2pens, followed by Belgium’s Karin Donckers on Lamicell Charizard, with 46pens.
The Belgian woman lifted the €1,000 at Tuesday’s curtain-raiser invitational dressage contest, held at Castlemartyr Resort, and yesterday was upbeat.
She said of the cross-country: “On first impressions, it’s a serious three-star and no walk in the park. There could be problems with the fence after the water, the combination with its big wall and the fact there are not too many ground lines. Overall, it’s tough, but fair,” said Donckers, who also holds fourth and fifth places with Maxwell Steele (49.4pens) and SS Jett (51.6pens), respectively.
Lying third is Anne-Marie Styles and As You Like It on a total of 48.2pens.
Local rider Michael Ryan was smiling, “delighted” with his 55.8 penalties on Ballylynch Skyport, which left him in 17th place.
“The horse went very well. Obviously, I will be aiming to improve on the cross-country. The time is tight and will be a factor. It is a big, bold galloping track, but with a few technical elements that could catch a few out. Hopefully, I won’t be one of them,” said the Bandon-based Limerick rider.
Dressage continues today, with the cross-country tomorrow and show jumping on Sunday.
