Bertram Allen part of determined effort to secure medal as Ireland show jumpers finish fourth

Irish Independent

4 days ago

Clear rounds from senior championship debutant Seamus Hughes-Kennedy and Darragh Kenny helped Michael Blake's outfit finish on a total of 12.39 faults, an agonising 4.2 faults off Germany and bronze.
Gold in the team class went to Belgium, who began the day in third. Gilles Thomas sealed the deal with a raised fist before his horse, Ermitage Kalone, had touched the ground after clearing the last.
They finished on 5.61 faults, with overnight leaders Great Britain taking silver, on 7.96.
In the end, the Green Jackets needed more mistakes from the leading three nations, having jumped from seventh to fourth after the first of the two Nations Cup rounds on Thursday.
The margins are tiny at this rarefied level but there were positives everywhere, with Denis Lynch and Kenny fulfilling their end of the bargain as the wise heads of the team with four clear rounds between them, while 22-year-old whizz kid Hughes-Kennedy flourished in his first major championships, as did his ten-year-old horse.
Meanwhile, Bertram Allen, a member of the last Irish team to win gold at the Europeans along with Lynch in Gothenburg in 2017 when he was only 22, clearly has a talented performer on his hands in the shape of Ballywalter Stables' Qonquest de Rigo.
Just nine, the gelding only had one fence down in each of three rounds and is sure to benefit from the experience.
Lynch and Vistogrand, the twelve-year-old he owns under the Tipperary's Finest stallion banner, justified their eleventh hour elevation to the team with two clears in the opening rounds.
The Tipperary pilot, a selector of the under-age squads that took the European Youth Championships by storm one week earlier, was so close to adding a third, but a slight rub at the middle part of the gold-colour triple combination toppled the top plank and left him with four faults and a personal tally of 6.32, which dropped him to 24th individually.
That heaped the pressure on Hughes-Kennedy, who like Lynch had been flawless to this juncture despite being at the very opposite end of the scale in terms of experience.
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The scion of an esteemed Irish equestrian family has been pinpointed as a star of the future for some time but has been making waves in Nations Cups and Grands Prix in recent months, jumping a double clear as Ireland won in La Baule.
The Kilkenny native stamped himself firmly as an athlete capable of campaigning at the very highest level, making light of the enormity of the round with the horse he has produced since Rocky was three.
It was a stunning effort by horse and rider.
Qonquest illustrated all his scope under Allen but unfortunately had the same obstacle as Vistogrand down. He recovered well under the expert guidance of his Wexford navigator to limit the damage.
A clear was needed from Kenny and Eddy Blue to have any chance of making the podium and the Offaly Olympian duly obliged with his 13-year-old partner never even looking like touching a rail.
That cemented fourth and Blake hailed the efforts of his riders and their support staff.
'You would love to win a medal and that's what we came here for but I am so proud of the riders for the efforts they put in and the rounds they jumped,' he said.
'They all did a really good job. Obviously, what Seamus has done and the whole story of how his uncles bred the horse, his mother owns it and he has produced it while he is only a young man himself is incredible.
'You always knew he had talent but I just wanted to introduce him gradually but there comes a time when you have to give them their head. When they're ready they're ready! Huge credit must go to Ger O'Neill, who took him under his wing and he has really benefited from that.
'But all four riders did a good job and I do think Bertram's horse will come on a lot for the experience. Major championships are very hard for nine-year-olds. He will have learned a lot from that.
'Apart from the riders, I want to thank the owners, the grooms, the vets and all the support staff. It wouldn't happen without them and while they might not get the profile and the headlines, their efforts are truly appreciated.
'And I want to thank Horse Sport Ireland too, who give us everything we need and continue to be a great support as we compete at the highest level around the world.'