For the past two weeks, Trevor and Katie, along with Highland President, Germaine W, Gonzalo and Chankar Mail have been abroad competing and picking up some fantastic results along the way.
First stop was Warsaw, Poland for the Longines EEF Nations Cup Final where Trevor was selected for the Irish team aboard the 11-year-old mare, Germaine W following a successful campaign during the 2022 season in the EEF Series.
But first, the rest of the squad stepped up to the plate and impressed in their own classes. In the 2* section of the show, Chankar Mail sped to 2nd place in the opening 2* 1,35m class just 0.51 seconds behind the winner. He kept up his form all week to also take 10th place in the hotly contested 2* Grand Prix.
In the 4* section, Highland President breezed around the 4* 1,45m Grand Prix Qualifier for an easy clear round, but it was stablemate Gonzalo who stepped up to the plate for the 4* Grand Prix. The 9-year-old jumped a spectacular round for an unlucky fence, but pulled it out of the bag the next day to take top spot in the 4* 1,45m speed class – almost 2 seconds ahead of the runner up.
Germaine W started her week with a clear round in the 4* 1,40m, warming herself for up the Nations Cup on Sunday. It was a nail-biting competition from start to finish, with the Irish team performing strongly the entire time. First in the ring for Ireland was Thomas Ryan & Springfield 21, who contributed to the final tally with an effortless clear round. Next up was Kevin Gallagher aboard Ballypatrick Flamenco who posted a crucial double clear that kept Ireland in the top three placings. Trevor and Germaine W jumped their hearts out for two great rounds, with their second round counting towards the final score. Anchor for the team was Eoin Mcmahon & Charkra 9 , who delivered a clear in the second round to ensure Ireland took silver medal position overall. Congratulations to the entire Irish team on a great performance and a fantastic result in the final, and congratulations to Italy on the incredible win!
‘When we’re in St Tropez…”
After a glorious stop-off in the Swiss mountains at Mark Mcauleys beautiful stables, our second stop on the trip was beautiful St Tropez, France for the CSI5* Hubside show – where the horses were on flying form and dominated all week.
Chankar Mail got better and better each round in the 2* section of the show, again landing on the podium for 3rd in the 2* 1.30 and pulling it out the bag for a clear in the 2* Ranking Class. Stablemate Gonzalo also improved each round he stepped into the ring, taking 8th in the 5* 1.50 and 5th in the 5* 1.45.
We were especially proud of Germaine W, who kept up her flying form and added more top results to her CV. She and Trevor took 11th in the 5* 1,45m Longines Ranking, followed by 5th in the 5* 1,50m LR the following day, and then finished her week with a 10th in the 5* 1,50m LR Jump-off class – it’s fair to say that she’s racked up the ranking points these past two weeks!
The superstar that is homebred Highland President started with an easy clear in the 5* 1,45 Ranking and only got better from there. He then finished just off the podium in 4th in the 5* 1,55m LR Jump-off class, and then finished on a high with an 8th in the 5* Grand Prix. This horse means so much to us and the entire team and we couldn’t be more thrilled with how far he has come – having only stepped up to the 5* level earlier this year.
A huge thanks, as always, to our owners, sponsors and entire team who work tirelessly to make these results possible. We couldn’t do this without you!
The next stop on our European tour is the prestigious 5* Nations Cup Final in Barcelona, where Trevor has been selected as part of the Irish squad once more. Watch this space…