When I was last on we were just on the way to Millstreet. As promised by Noel C the sun was shining when we arrived. We got all the horses settled in and the lorry sorted out as the Ellen would be living in it for the week as well as using as a feed and tack room.

I exercised all the horses there on Tuesday to let them have a look around as for some it was their first trip to the venue and as the arena are so big and open some of the horses thing they are in an all weather field when the first enter them. I was looking after the horses that we had left at home too so I left early to tend to them while Ellen put the horses stabled at the show to bed.

Wednesday started early and made a promising start to the week when I won the 1.10 young riders qualifier on Lady Clover Imp a grey mare that I rode as a 4 and 5 yr old, she loves going against the clock and as long as she leaves all the jumps in place she is very difficult to beat. Rossandro a 7yr old chestnut gelding I have also qualified in this class. Another horse I ride from time to time KEC Ivory Coast also qualified in the 1.20 6 yr old and under class, his owner is one of my amateur pupils so I just take him in the bigger classes to put mileage on him.

After a late night on Wednesday where jumping didn?t finish until after 10.00 Thursday morning was very quick coming around, Zancibar a beautiful 6 yr old I own myself qualified for the Boomerang class, this is a class restricted to 6 and 7 yr old horses and the track size starts at 1.30m so I was delighted with him because this competition will be his first proper test over a big technical track. The class of course is named after Eddie Mackens legendary horse Boomerang on which he won the Hickstead Derby among other big competitions. Rosandro was in flying form again winning the 1.10 6 year old and over qualifier.

On Friday Cyril settled down and got down to work coming 4th in the Six Bar and 8th in the Open Speed class. KEC Freefall a huge 5 year old Aldatus Z gelding I have was 6th in the 1.10m 5 yr old and under class, which myself and his owners were delighted with as he only started jumping this year, he is? such a big horse that he still has another year of filling out to do.

Saturday was a quite enough day with finals on, I jumped Rosandro and Lady in the 1.10m YR rider final where Rosandro had an unlucky 4 faults in the jump off, however Lady did her job and we ended up 4th. Cyril finished 8th in the Derby which is over natural obstacles as well as 1.40 ? 1.50m showjumps. It is a notoriously difficult class often the winner will finish on four faults, this was not the case this year and Lisa O Farrell and her faithful servant The Bodyguard were the only clear and took home the big pot. It?s a class Lisa has been chasing for a few years as she was second two years ago in it.

Poor Ellen thought Sunday would come after a long two weeks but it did and we had lots of finals to jump. The morning started well with Cyril being placed in the 1.35m open in the morning, Rosandro was in winning form again taking the spoils in the 1.10m final which ended up being a lightning quick class, we had to gallop flat out to the last and make sure we met it on a good stride, sometimes I think he is an overgrown 12.2 pony he gets so competitive in a jump off. Freefall was 6th in the 1.10m 5 yr old and under which was amazing as he is so big he just cant make the tight turns other compact horses can, he is quite flashy over a fence too so he wastes a bit of time in the air but I will stand to him when he faces bigger tracks. Zancibar had 4 faults in the Boomerang which I am very happy about as it was a huge, long technical track. It is by far the biggest track he has faced and he just lacked experience of big tracks and has never had to use his scope that much when coming down the last line which was a combination of 1.35m had he just tipped one pole. We will be back to take it on with him next year though as he is only 6.

Kathleen one of my armature pupils who rides KEC Ivory Coast placed 2nd in the Armature final, she was only barely beaten by the last rider. This was almost as good as coming second myself as I found Ivors as he is affectionately known, for her and have been training her on him since the early spring. She is extremely dedicated and is out in yard rain hail or shine to see her two horses she has with me.? All of us were down cheering her on ring side.

Mark O Sullivan won the ?30,000 Grand Prix on Amigo, the time in the jump off was incredibly tight and the fences full height at 1.50m, Mark was lucky to come back with all the fences up and only one time fault on Edward Doyles former mount. I would say a good night was had in Waterford when the eventually got home.

A big thanks must be given to the Duggan family who ran a wonderful show, everyone was in great spirits as the sun was shining and the prize money was good. There were more smiling faces leaving the office on Sunday evening after settling accounts then cross ones which guarantees everyone will be back next year.

We will be taking a much needed weekend off as I must go to look at some horses for customers and give my own horses a little holiday.

Check back next week to see if my buying trip has yielded any new arrivals.

Hi All,

Just arrived in Millstreet so I thought I had better update you all on the excitement of last week before there is more to report, which hopefully there will be.

Cyril and I did the Land Rover Puissance in the Main Arena in the RDS on Saturday, which was the most amazing experience and I still think I am still on the high that I got just from cantering into the arena with all the spectators watching never mind the television viewers, I didn’t even think of them until I watched it back on RTE player on Sunday morning.

Our preparations were aided with a really helpful lesson from Cian O Conner in Kill the week before it. Of course Cian is a Puissance expert and has been in the line up numerous times the most famous of these of course being his memorable victory on Caspar.

We did a bit of small wall jumping to get the approach spot on and then we worked on getting the perfect canter to meet a 2 meter fence, which is no mean feat and them remembering to keep that same canter when you can’t see over the fence and every instinct is telling you to go faster.
Cian was a great help and gave me some pointers on how to keep my focus with all the excitement.

In between lessons and RDS we had to come back down to earth and take a few young horses to a local show, we used this show to move some of the less experienced horses up a level, as the fences and arenas are not a colourful and spooky as at bigger shows, a nice grey 4 yr old we have Sacramento jumped his first 1.10, in preparation for the Discovery in Millstreet.

With that out of the way full concentration could be given back to the RDS. Sophie Walsh and Simon McCarthy two of my students had both qualified for the 1.20 YR class there so they hit off on Thursday morning to get the horses used to the Horse Show atmosphere. Cyril and I went up early on Friday morning as the 2nd International trot up was at 10 am on Friday morning. After the trot up I gat Cyril a walk around to stretch his legs, after his trip before going to warm up Simon and Sophie for there class, unfortunately they both had an unlucky 4 faults.

On Saturday morning I gave Cyril a canter and a small jump to get him loosened out before Ellen my groom took him away to get beautified. The flood of good luck messages arrived at this stage.

I have jumped in the RDS a good few times in previous years but I don’t think anything will be like cantering in to the Main Arena with stands and any available bit of ground packed to capacity, I even noticed a child sitting in a tree to get a look. There were a good few casualties at the wall before I went in so I had to stop thinking about the other riders and what they had done wrong and concentrate on my own technique that I have developed from the few puissance’s I have done.

After getting over the first three fences without incident I got ready for the wall keeping my steady elevated canted and Cyril sailed over it.
Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the second round where we sailed over it again and the cheer stared for the coping only to be caught by the narrowest of margins by one of Cyril’s hoofs.

I was delighted to see Cian finish in joint first and hopefully I can get him to give me some of his luck as well as knowledge for next year.

Now unfortunately back down to earth and to Millstreet where we have eight horses, myself and six pupils competing in a range of classes from 128cm ponies to the Grand Prix and a lot in between, perhaps there may even be a dog show for Remi. It’s great to see Millstreet back on the calendar as it is such an important show for selling horses and the customers that frequent it annually were sorely missed last year.

Check back in next week to see how we got on and if there are any antics to tell.

Kilian

Hi All,

I had a pretty amazing week last week, I had my trip to Aachen which I was looking forward to for months and while on the way to the National Cup Show I received work that I had qualified for the International Puissance at the Failte Ireland Dublin Horse Show, which was a major boost for me as Cyril and I had traveled the length and breadth of the country for the qualifiers the last of which was a six hour drive to Ballina in Co. Mayo. This competition will give me some much needed exposure to the International Circuit and hopefully lead to the opportunity of acquiring the ride on a top class horse or two?

Aachen was a wonderful show from the weather to the atmosphere at it. I only went for three days flying home on Friday morning so I wouldn?t be away from the yard for very long but we managed to fit a lot in our three days. The highlight of the show was the Nations Cup obviously in which the Irish team of Denis Lynch, Cian O Connor, Dermott Lennon and Billy Twomey had a memorable victory. My horse of the class was K Club Lady, she has not been competing at this level very long and I think she is definitely a mare that will be appearing on many more Super League teams in the future.

We had a new arrival again in the yard this week, a pretty 3 yr old mare that my vet Will sent down to have some schooling done with her before she goes on her break. She is proving to be a quick learner and a favorite of the girls in the yard.

This weekend we are going to Maryville Equestrian Centre in Carraigaline, in Co. Cork where there is a Munster Grand Prix, this is a great league for riders based in the South and is an ideal stepping stone for both green horses and riders to National Grand Prix level. The prize fund for this league is as a result of the annual Munster Greyhound Night which is the accumulation of major fundraising efforts by the whole Munster Showjumping committee and supporters. Alan Molan in Maryville also runs very good shows all year round in there indoor and two outdoor arenas; I also make use of his facilities to give some of my lessons so it is important to support his shows.

Please drop back next week to find out how the RDS preparations are going and to see how we got on over the weekend.

Kilian

Hi All,

We are having a busy week in the yard this week with lots of comings and goings. Two new horses arrived from Kennedy’s Equine Center, a chestnut 8 yr old Visconti and a big bay 5 year old KEC Freefall, they are both by KEC stallion Aldatus Z one of these will fill a recently vacated stable that belonged to a 5 yr old that is jetting to New Zealand where he has been sold to a young rider.

The most exciting arrival of the week however is Remi our new black and tan Jack Russell bitch who is running the yard already, making sure there is not a mouse or bird to be seen. I am sure she will be seen accompanying me to shows up and down the country in the not to distant future surrounded by a flock of admirers. That is?her in the pictures taking a well-earned sit down.

We are just getting prepared for Blessington show this weekend, we will be taking a full lorry load on Sunday, some young horses, my exciting 6 year old Zancibar for the 1.30 class and of course will be jumping Cyril in the Land Rover Puissance qualifier, we finished 2nd in the first qualifier in Mullingar so hopefully this time we can go one better. He is feeling great in himself and looking fabulous so all should go well. He has started to become a bit of a puissance specialist in the last two years after I entered him in the puissance class in Kill for a bit of fun and he won it, he has all the scope in the world and is as brave as a lion which makes riding down to the big wall on him a whole lot easier.

I am taking one of the young riders based in my yard that I train, Sophie Walsh to the last RDS young rider qualifier in Mullingar on Saturday, she has already qualified Ark Diamond a horse they bought from me two years ago for the 1.20m class. On Saturday she is bringing Rossandro a 7 year old chestnut gelding owned by one of my American owners for the 1.10m qualifier. She was just out of the qualifying placing at the last qualifier they attended before she sat her leaving cert.

Check in early next week when we will have news of the results from the weekends shows and some pictures from our weekends action hopefully with plenty of ribbons.