Galway’s Cathal Daniels, winner of the individual bronze medal at the European eventing championships at Luhmühlen this summer, returned to Germany this week and, on Wednesday night, beat fellow Irish international, Padraig McCarthy, into second in Stuttgart’s indoor eventing competition.
Drawn third last to jump on Sarah Hughes’s Alcatraz, Daniels was clear in both phases and his time of 36.65 in the second bettered that of Germany’s European champion, Ingrid Klimke, riding Weisse Düne (38.47). The host nation’s Michael Jung, winner of the silver medal at Luhmühlen, was next to compete but, with second phase jumping penalties, finished sixth on Star Connection FRH (39.98).
Devon-based Co Tipperary native McCarthy was last to take on the course of natural obstacles and coloured poles but, while he jumped around clear, a time of 36.95 meant he had to settle for the runner-up spot on Tatiana Brent’s 14-year-old Orlando mare, Rosemaber Lancuest. Britain’s Laura Collett finished fourth on the Irish Sport Horse gelding Cooley Again, an 11-year-old by Ramiro B.
Alcatraz is a recent addition to the string of horses Daniels competes out of Orchard Lodge Stud in Kilcullen, Co Kildare and, as a warm-up for Stuttgart, he jumped the 14-year-old bay gelding at Cavan. Both Daniels and McCarthy were on the silver medal-winning team at last year’s World Equestrian Games in North Carolina, a results which securred Ireland’s place in the team eventing competition at next year’s Tokyo Olympics.
Kildare-born Judy Reynolds will be competing with Vancouver K in the dressage world cup qualifier at Stuttgart this week while Shane Breen, Richard Howley and Darragh Kenny will be Ireland’s representatives in the five-star show jumping competitions. The highlight of the jumping programme is the Longines FEI world cup qualifying class will takes place on Sunday.
Offaly native Kenny, who was runner-up in last weekend’s world cup qualifier in Verona, will be among the world’s top 10 riders competing in the Rolex International Jumping Riders Club final at the five-star show in Geneva next month.
Irish riders made a good start to the concluding week of the Autumn II tour in Oliva, Spain on Wednesday.
Mayo’s Alex Duffy won the six-year-old final on Emerson Tough’s home-bred Luidam gelding MEC Look At Me and Kilkenny’s Susan Fitzpatrick landed the five-year-old final with her mother Sharon’s Irish Sport Horse gelding CBI Victory, a Vittorio bay bred in Co Offaly by Aidan Carroll out of the Diamant de Semilly mare Cenith M. Waterford’s Anthony Condon finished third in the seven-year-old final on his own Chic du Rouet.
