Latest from Horse & Hound in Ballindenisk-horse-trials

Hospital and cancellation prove no barrier for Brit as last-minute diversion results in victory

Lucy Elder — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 17:35:58 +0000

A leading British eventer turned disaster into triumph after a last-minute reroute following the cancellation of Ballindenisk resulted in a win and full house of top-10 placings.

Holly Woodhead was among the many Brits who had caught the ferry to Ireland to compete at the international event (20-22 April).

But unforecast heavy rain forced the event to cancel after many had already arrived.

“I was about 20 miles away when we got the phone call to say it was cancelled,” said Holly.

“So I quickly thought ‘what can we do while we are here?’

“I wanted to give the horses a good rest as they had travelled a long way, so my friends at River Lodge Equestrian gave us some stables and we had a great two days there.

“Holly Bishop, of Parkfield Breeding [who owns Holly Woodhead’s Wiltshire base and several of her rides] managed to get me and all the horses registered with Eventing Ireland and entered into Tyrella one-day-event.”

They drove the seven hours up to Northern Ireland, where all five of Holly’s horses scored sub-30 dressage tests and jumped double clears in intermediate and novice sections.

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Mary King walks Badminton Horse Trials cross-country course

Find out what Mary King thought of some of the key fences on the 2018 Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials

(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

New eventing season bingo: how many of these 12 things have you spotted?

With the eventing season well underway, you may well have spotted some of these 12 sights at horse trials around

(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

12 really useful products for the new eventing season

The result was made even more impressive as the 24-year-old had been in hospital the previous week for a stomach ulcer.

“I was in hospital the day before we left [for Belton the previous weekend] and initially I wasn’t going to ride,” said Holly, who finished third in the Belton CIC2* aboard Parkfield Quintessential (pictured, top).

At Tyrella, Holly took home a win aboard Parkfield Quintessential, second on Global H, who is part-owned by Carl Hester, fourth on E Warrantson, fifth on Findus PFB and 10th on Mr Sneezy.

“I think everything happens for a reason,” laughed Holly, adding the horses coped “amazingly” with the journey. “We did an awful lot of miles, but it was worth it — I can’t praise the Irish hospitality enough.”

A photo posted by on

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

This week’s magazine (26 April), features a full Badminton preview, including a cross-country course walk with Mary King and full form guide for every horse and rider.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Brits dominate at Irish leg of eventing Nations Cup

Lucy Elder — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 10:09:29 +0000

British eventers made it a hat-trick with their third win in a row in the Ballindenisk leg of the FEI Nations Cup (22-25 April).

The team of Oliver Townend (Cooley SRS), Franky Reid-Warrilow (Dolley Whisper), Wills Oakden (Merikano) and Izzy Taylor (Briarlands Birdsong), finished on a score of 162.8 — almost 20 penalties ahead of second-placed home nation Ireland (182.5). Close behind in third place was France on 184.4.

Brits also filled the top three individual placings, with Pippa Funnell and Mirage D’Elle winning the title and Oliver and Franky in second and third respectively.

This was the second leg of the 2016 series and Britain is now in third place behind joint leaders Ireland and France.

Pathfinder Oliver — the highest-placed British team member — had eight showjumping faults to add to his dressage score of 40.7, which cost him the win.

Meanwhile, Nations Cup debutantes Franky and her own Dolley Whisper climbed from 10th after the dressage to take third on a score of 51.3.

Franky’s result follows success at last year’s CIC2* European Championships in Holland, where the partnership won both individual gold and team silver.

The Irish leg was also the first Nations Cup for Wills Oakden, who finished 15th individually after adding 12 showjumping faults to his dressage of 50.8.

Related articles:

Izzy Taylor was the drop score after incurring 11 cross-country penalties for breaking a frangible pin.

Britain hosts the third leg of the nine-part series at Houghton International Horse Trials next month (26-29 May).

The last time Brits won on home turf was in 2013, with Germany taking the crown last year and New Zealand in 2014.

11 very good (horsey) reasons to celebrate St Patrick’s Day

Madeleine Silver — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 08:55:24 +0000

Ireland didn’t garner the title “Land of the horse” for nothing. Whether it’s this year’s Cheltenham maestro Willie Mullins, the versatile Connemara ponies or the action of the Dublin Horse Show, there’s a lot to love about the Emerald Isle.

And what better excuse do we need than it being St Patrick’s Day today (17 March) to celebrate all things Irish and equestrian?

So grab yourself a Guinness, don an emerald sweater and get jigging.

1. Willie Mullins

Willie Mullins’ fleet of lorries arriving at Cheltenham last week for the Festival showed everyone that he meant business. And he didn’t disappoint. On the first day alone, the County Carlow-based trainer took a whopping four titles — and by the end of the Festival he had secured a record eight.

2. AP McCoy (pictured above)

Will jump racing ever get better than the mighty AP McCoy? The 40-year-old might be retiring at the end of this season, but the National Hunt world certainly won’t forget him in a hurry. With over 4,300 wins to his name and 19 champion jockey titles, he’s not an easy act to follow.

3. Irish Draughts

We’ve got a lot to thank Irish Draughts for. They may have been developed in the early part of the 20th century for farmers who wanted a horse that could work the land in the week, go hunting all day Saturday and then be ready to bring the family trap to church on Sunday morning — but their blood can be found in sport top horses across the disciplines.

4. Aoife Clark

Thirty-three-year-old Aoife is just one of an exciting crop of Irish eventers, having taken individual seventh place at London 2012, the CCI3* title at Bramham in 2014 and the Blenheim CCI3* in 2013.

Continued below…

(Image credit: Bill Selwyn)

12 ways hunting in Ireland differs from the UK

Aside from needing to top up your hip flask more frequently, H&H finds out how hunting in Ireland differs from

5. Punchestown

National Hunt devotees can be feeling flat post the Grand National — which is when the Punchestown Festival comes into play (28 April-2 May 2015). Five days of top class racing is the perfect remedy to cure jump racing withdrawal symptoms.

6. Ballindenisk

This year’s Ballindenisk Horse Trials (24-26 September 2015) is sure to attract eventing royalty — but the event had humble beginnings. The story goes that in the spring of 1974 Norman Van de Vater, master of the United Fox Hounds, was out hunting one Wednesday and whilst galloping across Ballindenisk, admiring the farm, he looked at Robert Fell and asked: “Robert, would it be okay to bring a few friends for a gallop around your farm?”

7. Guinness

You may well curse the drunken men who stumble into you, spilling Guinness down your carefully chosen tweed at the Cheltenham Festival, but what would it be without the Guinness tent? And we only have the Irish to thank for that.

8. Bertram Allen

The 19-year-old showjumping superstar may be based in Munster, Germany — but he wears his green jacket with pride. Bertram finished seventh individually at the World Equestrian Games last year and will make his debut in the World Cup final in Las Vegas in April.

9. Dublin Horse Show

First run in 1864, this show is a Dublin institution. This year it runs from 5-9 August 2015, and spectators can look forward to watching showing’s biggest names in action, the Nations Cup showjumping — as well as the eagerly anticipated puissance.

10. Connemara ponies

With their athleticism, versatility, good temperament and enviable jumping ability, any child has hit the jackpot if they can land themselves a Connemara pony to kick start their competition career.

11. Extreme hunting

Hip flasks need to be sizeable (and full) for hunting in Ireland — and there’s no shame in hopelessly clinging onto your neckstrap. Or having dirty breeches within the first 20 minutes of getting on board.

Coral Keen’s eventing blog: making winter plans

Coral Keen — Wed, 01 Oct 2014 07:55:43 +0000

After a hectic few weeks, it’s been lovely to spend a weekend at home, riding the young horses, catching up properly with the girls and giving the tack room a really good clean out.

I love spending time on the yard and there’s nothing like a good sort out! It was also great to spend some time teaching — something I always really enjoy and I’m planning to expand this side of the business.

I took my two mares Zoe (pictured right) and Wiverna to Ballindenisk which was strewn with mishaps including a broken martingale on the

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

cross-country course and Zoe feeling out of sorts.

But it was a good experience, the hospitality was fantastic and I can cross the event off my tick list.

September turned out to be quite a disappointing month with both Land Rover Burghley and Blenheim (pictured top) not going to plan, but I’ve learnt a lot from the experience and will come out next spring, all guns blazing, ready to ride in another four-star competition.

Overall I’m really pleased with how the season has gone, with the highlight being Houghton International where Derby (Wellshead Fare Opposition) and I finished fourth in the CICO 3*.

Cascadelle has been to West Wilts today to do some showjumping as she hasn’t been out for a while, and we’ll have a jump with Corinne Bracken tomorrow before we go to Osberton for the five-year-old championships on Wednesday.

I had a fantastic afternoon training with Corinne last week and we’re coming up with a winter plan to strengthen up the weak areas and continue with the horses’ education too.

Corinne is keen for the horses to have their breaks early so that we can do quite a bit over the winter. Therefore we have a busy few months ahead competing and training.

Next week I’ll meet up with all my trainers to make a structured plan. Winter is a time to consolidate what we have achieved so far and lay firm foundations for the future.

I’ll also be backing my lovely three-year-old Ted who is by Wish Upon A Star out of our thoroughbred mare

who has sadly passed away. It will be interesting to see how he progresses over the next few months as he’s a really sweet horse with something very special about him.

Coral with Zoe (left) and Wiverna at Ballindenisk (Image credit: creditUnknown)

My four-year-old April will start her competitive education and I’ll take her to some hunter trials and do some clear round showjumping. She’ll come out next spring when I feel she’s ready.

I’ll also be looking out for some new rides for next season to join the yard and for horses that might need some schooling. With such a great team here and facilities that are second to none, it would be lovely if new owners wanted to join us.

In between this, at the end of November, ten of us are going to New Orleans and Alabama to spend some time with the British-based American event rider Katherine Coleman who owns equine supplement business Ready Supp. Katherine loves to party so I’m not sure it will be much of a rest but it will be really good fun.

I’m also going to have a few days in Dubai which will be more relaxing, after Megan and Emily have all had their very well deserved holidays. Charly is moving on to different things and so we will be looking to take on another working pupil. I really enjoy working with riders and helping them progress.

Finally, people often ask me where the name Coral came from so I thought I’d explain! It’s through my Grandmother. She once read a book called Silver Snaffles by Primrose Cumming and in it were two girls called Crystel and Coral. My mum is called Crystel and she named me Coral.

Coral

Coral Keen’s eventing blog: Disappointment, vet visits and a trip to Ireland

Gemma Redrup — Wed, 17 Sep 2014 12:39:47 +0000

Sadly my re-route to Blenheim Horse Trials with Wellshead Fare Opposition (Derby) didn’t quite go to plan. I made the decision to retire again on the cross-country and I felt incredibly deflated.

I had a few tears back at the lorry, when I was wondering when things would start to go right, but my amazing family and team picked me back up to fight another day.

Before going to Blenheim, I’d had a cross-country schooling session with Lucinda Green where we swapped Derby’s noseband for a grackle and it had really done the trick.

I was having the most amazing ride on him at Blenheim, possibly the best ride of my life, and he was skipping over the fences. We were 10sec up on the minute markers until we came to fence 22, the Hollow.

It was a rail to a ditch to a big skinny triple brush, which had caused problems all day.

When we walked it I really studied it and thought at the time it was highly unlikely that a horse would run out to the left. However Derby proved me wrong and he ran straight past it in that direction, as did many others also!

He’d already jumped some tricky combinations really well, so I didn’t think we’d have a problem or that there was any need to go the long route.

The Hollow is in quite a dark area on the course and it’s quite tight so I decided not to represent and retired. With 20 penalties added to our score we were no longer competitive so I thought I would save him for another day.

I was absolutely gutted as up until that stage he had literally breezed over the fences. He felt amazing.

Before the cross-country, he did a super dressage test, although there was some disparity between the marks with one judge giving us 185, which would have put us in the top five, and another giving us 153 – a huge difference of 32 penalties.

But Yogi Briesner and Tracie Robinson, dressage trainer to the British eventing team, both thought he had done a super test.

On Saturday evening I really started to question whether all the hard work is worth it, but an afternoon off on Sunday, when I went with my family and friends to the Radio 2 concert in Hyde Park, cheered me up and by 4am on Monday I was on the road to Pontispool one-day event with three horses.

I was very pleased with both Zoe and Wiverna, while Pluto (Aphrodisiac) had a stop across country. He’d done a beautiful dressage test and jumped clear showjumping.

The vet was already coming to see Derby to give him a thorough check, so Pluto was added to the list too.

We found Pluto has a tear in the joint capsule in his fetlock, which explains why he didn’t feel himself. He will now have six weeks off, which will allow the joint to stabilise and he should be fine.

I’m also relieved that we have found a very tiny problem with Derby, which might explain why he ran out on Saturday.

After Blenheim he trotted up 3/10ths lame so the vet nerve blocked his foot today and it looks like he has aggravated an overreach he picked up at Hartpury.

While you can’t actually see he’s had an injury, underneath the surface it’s a similar action to rubbing your palms together with the parts that make up the bulb of the heel not quite knitting together properly.

It’s not serious and with some corrective shoeing, we should be able to stabilise his foot.

He will have some time off now, although I may give him another run in an open intermediate or advanced class depending on his recovery, as there are still six weeks to go of the eventing season. I am not overly happy about leaving his mindset as it is — walking home from the cross-country at two events — until next season.

Last night we left for Ballindenisk in Ireland with Wiverna and Zoe. We drove through the night to get the ferry from Fishguard at 2.45am and we’ll now be spending a few days in beautiful rural Ireland in Co Cork.

Fingers crossed for some Irish luck!

Coral

Zara Phillips scores first international victory since 2008

Horse & Hound — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 13:59:49 +0000

Former world and european eventing champion Zara Phillips scored her first international victory since 2008 in Ireland yesterday (Sunday, 18 September).

Princess Anne’s daughter took the CIC*** at The Johnson & Perrott Land Rover International Horse Trials at Ballindenisk, Co Cork, on Lord Lauries, a 10-year-old son of Laralle, by 5.2pens.

A dressage score of 47.2 left her in second place after dressage, but recording the fourth fastest time on the cross-country – with just 6.4 time penalties – put her in the lead before showjumping.

Although she rolled one pole over the tricky track it was enough to give her the victory with the dark bay gelding.

This victory, following a solid 10th place at Burghley Horse Trials, with High Kingdom, and 11th with Silver Lining V in the 8/9-year-old class at Blenheim, continues her strong month as she looks to catch the eye of selectors with London 2012 less than a year away.

Izzy Taylor with Briarlands Matilda and completed the British sweep of the top three placings with Captain Geoff Curran the best of the Irish in fourth.

Zara’s last international win was at Burgie in 2008 with Secret Legacy.

In the CCI*** Declan Cullen, Glenhill Gold, won with a score of 62.4 and Matthew Wright, Fernhill Express, took a commanding victory by 6pens in the CCI**.

For a full report don’t forget to pick up Horse & Hound on Thursday 29 September.

New international events to be run at Ballindenisk and Camphire

Amy Mathieson — Fri, 14 May 2010 11:49:57 +0000

Irish riders are celebrating news of two new international events.

After the loss of two-star Necarne Castle due to financial reasons, Ireland was left with no international in the autumn.

But now Ballindenisk organiser Peter Fell has stepped in and the Co Cork venue will hold its first CCI***, CCI** and CCI* (15-19 September) — the dates when Necarne was due to be held.

Camphire, in Co Waterford, has also applied to run its first international event, comprising a CIC** and CIC* (28-29 August).

“It’s always been the plan for down the road, but with the loss of Necarne an opportunity opened up,” said Mr Fell.

“We’ve had an excellent response — it’s valuable to the industry and makes a huge difference to riders cost-wise.”

The prize-fund currently stands at €10,000 (£8,448), but Mr Fell added that any extra sponsorship money gained would go directly into winnings.

Three Irish international competitions have been lost in the past two years — Necarne Castle, Ballygraffan and Ballinacoola — forcing Irish riders to travel overseas.

Tipperary-based rider Paul Donovan told H&H he’s looking forward to Ballindenisk: “It’s definitely more cost-efficient to compete there than travel abroad.”

British-based Irish eventer Michael Ryan agreed: “I’ll be heading there — we need to support our country’s events.”

John Wright, chairman of Eventing Ireland added: “Ballindenisk ran an excellent CIC over two days recently, which showed the variety of tracks that can be produced at the venue.”

This article was first published in Horse & Hound (13 May, ’10)

Oliver Townend suspended for seven days

Horse & Hound — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 12:12:02 +0000

Event rider Oliver Townend has been suspended for seven days following his cross-country fall from Woodhouse Ben in the CIC** at Ballindenisk (20-22 April).

The 24-year-old spent five hours in hospital in Ireland last weekend but was released following X-rays and a scan.

“I was only in hospital so long because the hospital was so busy,” revealed Oliver. “My shoulder is a bit sore but other than that I’m feeling fine. It’s just one of those things, I could compete on Sunday (29 April) but I don’t want to risk my luck ahead of Badminton.”

Under British Eventing (BE) rules, a seven-day mandatory suspension is imposed when there is “no loss of consciousness but with brief symptoms of concussion (all symptoms of concussion must have resolved within 15 minutes both at rest and exercise)”.

BE told H&H his suspension runs from 21-28 April.

Irish eventing inquiry over Ballindenisk withdrawals

Abigail Butcher — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 12:52:25 +0000

Eventing Ireland (EI) is to launch an investigation after a large number of riders withdrew before the cross-country at Ballindenisk International Horse Trials last weekend.

Hard ground resulted in the organisers aerovating the ground for 36hr before the event. Despite this, only nine combinations from 39 opted to run across country in the CIC*** class.

EI has requested information from the International Equestrian Federation in order to conduct its inquiry.

In a statement, it said: “It is most upsetting that the event has ended in such controversial circumstances.”

Ballindenisk event director Peter Fell told H&H: “We’re extremely disappointed that so many chose not to run their horses across country, especially as we had made superhuman efforts to make the best of the situation.

“We understand many riders specifically came to Ballindenisk because they expected soft ground, but nobody could have predicted that we would have five weeks without any rain.”

Don’t miss Horse & Hound’s full report from Ballindenisk International Horse Trials in today’s magazine (26 April, ’07)

Ballindenisk Horse Trials, Ireland

Catherine Austen — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 14:28:50 +0000

Heidi Woodhead won the Irish Horse Board CIC*** World Cup qualifier riding The Biz.

She was one of just nine riders out of 39 starters to run across country in the CIC***, largely because of hard ground (see news report, page 5 tomorrow’s H&H).

Second in the World Cup qualifier and best of the Irish was Michael Ryan with Old Road. Northern Ireland’s Steven Smith finished third with Quality VH.

Fourth was Maths student Clare Abbott on Catherine Abbott’s 13-year-old Mandalious. Zara Phillips finished fifth on Ardfield Magic Star.

Wicklow’s Louise Bloomer, 22, took the Johnson & Perrott Land Rover CIC** on Innishannon On Air, fractionally ahead of Austin O’Connor on Lily Of The West. Third was Michael Ryan with Master Mexico.

Aoife Reilly took a large CIC* class on Ground Control, ahead of Fraser Duffy (First Mate). Third was Oliver Townend on ODT Mouse, who later suffered a nasty fall in the CIC** that put him in hospital.

Britain’s Ewart Woolley won the CCI* on PC Wilson.

Read this report in full, including more details of Oli Townend’s fall and the efforts of the event organisers to prepare the ground, in tomorrow’s Horse & Hound (26 April, ’07)