Irish-breds top of the eventing class

Irish-bred horses continue to dominate the world of eventing, topping the latest yearly rankings by the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH), which were issued on Monday.

Individually, German-bred fischerRocana FST earned the most ranking points, but collectively the Irish Sport Horse (ISH) studbook topped the lot, and continues to be favoured by a host of the world’s top eventing riders.

Cooley Cross Border, bred in Co Louth by Johnny Duffy, and competed by USA’s Kim Severson, is the highest-ranked of the ISH horses in the latest annual figures. Apart from Severson’s mount, the other five ISH horses that counted in the rankings are ridden by Ireland’s Sam Watson (Ardagh Highlight), Great Britain’s Oliver Townened (Cooley SRS as well as Ballaghmore Class) and Piggy French (Vanir Kamira), with the list completed by New Zealand star Mark Todd (Kiltubrid Rhapsody).