Jumping in the City - Tie for 1st place in the Devenish Puissance
15th June 2015
A capacity crowd watched the three feature competitions - the Amateur Speed Class, the Grand Prix and the Puissance - with some of Ireland’s top international riders taking part. Olympic medallist Cian O’Connor, fellow Olympian and Cork native Billy Twomey, former World Champion Dermott Lennon and Tipperary’s rising Nations’ Cup star Greg Broderick were all competitors.
The Grand Prix was won by Co Kildare's Alexander Butler riding the Ladycastle Syndicate-owned Vimminka, while local boy Twomey was just over a second behind in the jump off to take the runner-up spot on Sue Davies’s Tinka’s Serenade. Kildare’s Nicola FitzGibbon placed third with Poker Des Dames, which is owned by Lady Georgina Forbes.
Drama unfolded in the Devenish Puissance, with two riders tying for first place when the big red wall went up to 2m15 in height. The two to clear the final height and share the winner’s prize were Tipperary's Liam O'Meara with Cisero and Wexford's Jason Higgins riding Hadine Van’t Zorgvliet.
In the earlier Amateur Speed Class, Co. Down’s Victoria McKee took the honours on Grahame Forsythe’s Irish Sport Horse Carrigeen Mos, seeing off a challenge from Tipperary’s Joanna Penfold with her own Irish Sport Horse, King Cruise.
Entering into the spirit of the evening, Horse Sport Ireland Chairman Pat Wall placed eighth in the Amateur class with Trebor Tell Me More, and thereby qualified for the final of the series, which takes place in Dublin’s Shelbourne Park greyhound stadium on June 26th.