Sam Watson confident of a good show at Camphire International Horse Trials

Sam Watson is as confident as the capricious sport of eventing will allow that he will give a good account of himself when defending his CIC three-star title at Camphire International Horse Trials this weekend.

The Carlow rider faces a strong field of 43 rivals in the Alltech-sponsored feature class, but is well armed, with Horseware Bushman - who was denied a run last year by a minor injury - and the 10-year-old Horseware Lukeswell, who proved an impressive replacement when given Watson a stunning 13-penalty winning margin.

The rider, though, admits that next month’s German nations cup will influence his approach with the latter.