SMYTH TAKES THE DOUBLE BY WINNING GAIN/ALLTECH AUTUMN GRAND PRIX LEAGUE

Despite not making it through to the jump off with both his mounts, Peter Smyth claimed the league title in a thrilling finish to the 2011 GAIN/Alltech Autumn Grand Prix League in a class won by Cian O'Connor and Carpe Diem.

In ways reminiscent of the Premier Series Final where Smyth lead going into the Final round and failed to make the Jump off which Eddie Moloney went on to win, it appeared that the same fate was set for Smyth.  However, on this occasion, Smyth closest rival, Gabriel Slattery also didn't make the jump off and so, Smyth was crowned Champion to make it a double for him having won the National Grand Prix League earlier in the year.

Smyth finished five points clear of Gabriel Slattery having won at Kildare International and Killossery in October, while Slattery claimed wins at Cavan on two occasions to leave him in second place after the Final.  Smyth takes a prize of €3,000 home for winning the league with Slattery taking €1,000.

Some consolation came for Slattery however, when his main mount, Captain's Magic Touch was crowned as the Leading Horse on the League for her owner John Byrne and he also takes a cheque for €1,000.

Meanwhile in the class itself, Cian O'Connor took the bulk of the €3,000 on offer by the Farnham Arms Hotel, riding Ronnoco Jump Ltd's Carpe Diem.

This horse has been making quite a name for himself already with his new rider having been placed in several International Grand Prix since O'Connor took over the ride and their time of 35.27 was good enough to claim another win here.

That pair finished just ahead of Young Rider Lorcan Gallagher, who has had a fine run of form during the Indoor Shows and he picked up second with Arsalla stopping the clocks in 35.45.  While Greg Broderick returned this week from injury to take third with the Caledonia Stable's Mrs Quinn 36.18.

So that concludes another year of Grand Prix Showjumping and what an exciting way to close out the season at the Cavan International Horse Show with Peter Smyth claiming another valuable league title in an epic finish to the GAIN/Alltech Autumn Grand Prix League.

GAIN/Alltech Autumn Grand Prix League Final
€3,000 kindly sponsored by the Farnham Arms Hotel

1 CARPE DIEM/CIAN O'CONNOR 35.27
2 ARSALLA /LORCAN GALLAGHER  35.45         
3 MRS QUINN/GREG BRODERICK 36.18
4 PACINO/CLEM MCMAHON 37.35
5 BISCAYA D EVERSEM/JOAN GREENE 37.67         
6 O'CONNELL ST/ROSS MULHOLLAND 42.39         

GAIN/Alltech Autumn League Champion - Peter Smyth
Runner Up - Gabriel Slattery
GAIN/Alltech Autumn League Champion Horse - Captain's Magic Touch (John Byrne)

SMYTH AND SLATTERY GO DOWN TO THE WIRE IN THE GAIN/ALLTECH AUTUMN GRAND PRIX LEAGUE

The Finale of the 2011 GAIN/Alltech Autumn Grand Prix League takes centre stage at the Cavan International Horse Show this Friday with Peter Smyth and Gabriel Slattery going into a head to head battle for the League Champions Crown.

With both riders having claimed major titles already this year, they are going into the Final leg in top form and each rider has taken two Grand Prix wins in this year's league.  Earlier in the year Slattery shared the National Speed Championship crown with Ger O'Neill, while Peter Smyth took the National Grand Prix League title having just failed to also win the Premier Series.  Over the years, there has been some memorable battles in the Autumn Grand Prix League, and this one is set to be no different with just five points separating the two riders. 

Slattery won the opening leg at Cavan back in September to put himself in pole position, however, it wasn't long before Smyth caught up with him and the pair have been in a ding dong battle since the start of October.  Smyth went on to win at Kildare International and recently at Killossery, with both wins coming on Victoria Rose while Slattery took another win at Cavan in October with the very consistent Captain's Magic Touch.

Looking ahead to Friday's Final, which carries Points and a half; Peter Smyth is going in with everything to play for; ''I will be riding Corrib House and The Windmill Master in Friday's Final.  They are two very good horses and I have good confidence in them but Gabriel has won twice in Cavan so it seems to be a happy hunting ground for him.  I'll be trying to jump a clear round mainly.  Being 5 points ahead puts the pressure on Gabriel.  It would be a big thing for me to win it, I was second last year to John Floody and I would like to try and bag it this year along with the National Grand Prix League.''

While his main rival Gabriel Slattery said; ''I'll be bringing Captains Magic Touch for sure, she's a very good mare and I'd be hoping for another good result.  It would be a dream to do it and a good way to finish up the year but it's all about luck as we know.  It's also a great experience for her, she is a very nice mare and I will be aiming her for the Premier Series next year.''

The class is a 1.40m Jump Off class with a prize fund of 3,000 and it gets started at 7.30pm on Friday evening.  It will also be shown LIVE on www.irishsport.tv, courtesy of ShowjumpingIreland, along with all the other International Classes over the weekend and Saturday's Puissance.  Until then however, all eyes will be firmly fixed on Friday evenings big showdown between Peter Smyth and Gabriel Slattery which will surely provide the crowds with a thrilling finish to the GAIN/Alltech Autumn Grand Prix League.

CAFRE – Equine Industry Short Course - Linear Scoring

Jane Elliott, Senior Equine Lecturer, CAFRE, Enniskillen Campus

Afternoon and evening sessions on the linear scoring system for Sport Horses and Irish Draughts are being organised as part of the CAFRE Equine Industry training short course programme.

The afternoon session will take place at Necarne, Irvinestown, BT94 2GG on Tuesday 8^th November 2011 from 1.30 p.m. to 4.00 p.m.  The evening session will take place at Moy Riding School, 131 Derrycaw Road, Moy, Tyrone, BT71 6NA on Tuesday 8^th November 2011 from 7.00 p.m. to 9.30 p.m.

The course will be delivered by Mr Philip Scott from Ballina, Co Mayo.  Philip is well known and respected in Sport Horse circles having evented at three star level and having been a very successful producer of show horses including horses which have won championships at the Royal Dublin Society Show (RDS).  He is on the Horse Sport Ireland panel of inspectors for Sport Horses and Stallions and is also involved as a judge and inspector of Connemara ponies.  Philip has judged at many high profile shows in England including at the Royal International Horse Show and he has also fulfilled judging commitments in France and Canada.

Philip trained the Irish team which participated in the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) Young Breeders World Championship hosted by Teagasc and Horse Sport Ireland at Kildalton College, Piltown, Co. Kilkenny in July 2011.

During what should prove to be a very interesting short course Philip will outline the system used for linear scoring Sport Horses and Irish Draught Horses. He will linear score a Sport Horse and an Irish Draught horse and discuss with participants his rationale for allocating his scores. Participants will have the opportunity to score a horse and will then be able to compare the marks which they awarded to those allocated by Philip.  Philip will also provide an insight into the loose jumping scoring system.

This event is being run by CAFRE’s BSc 2 Equine Management students as part of their Event Management module. 

There is no admission charge for these CAFRE Short Courses.  All are very welcome to attend one or other of these courses.  In order to facilitate the organisation of these short courses those wishing to attend should complete a short course enrolment form and return these to Jane Elliott  (jane.elliott@dardni.gov.uk) or Laura Smith (laura.smith@dardni.gov.uk) at CAFRE, Enniskillen Campus, Levaghy,  2 Mullaghmeen Road, Enniskillen, BT74 4GF by Wednesday 2^nd November 2011.  Enrolment forms can be downloaded from the website at www.cafre.ac.uk or can be obtained by contacting Jane Elliott on 02866 344823 or Laura Smith on 02866 344649).

SMYTH AND SLATTERY FINISH 1-2 AT KILLOSSERY

Peter Smyth will keep hold of the Leaders Armband following his win on Victoria Rose on Monday

The two League leaders in the GAIN/Alltech Autumn Grand Prix League showed the crowds why they are in those positions when taking the top two places in the sixth leg of the League at Killossery.

With Peter Smyth ahead by three points going into Monday's leg following Gabriel Slattery's win at Cavan the previous week, the pressure was on for the two riders to pull out another top class performance and neither disappointed.  Both riders came in with fantastic clears in the first round going last and second last respectively and entered the jump off with all to play for.

With Mervyn Clarke holding onto the lead with Money Train having stopped the clocks in 31.76 and he held the lead until Slattery and Captains Magic Touch went before the crowds.  Knowing the task at hand, Slattery threw everything at beating Clarke's time and he did so breaking the beam in 30.32, probably thinking that enough was done to secure the win.  However, Peter Smyth had other ideas.

The Strabane rider had previously won on Victoria Rose at Kildare International in a thrilling head to head with Edward Doyle and again the 8 year old mare didn't disappoint Smyth clocking a spectacular time of 28.86 to take the win and move to 38 points, five clear of Gabriel Slattery.

With the next leg at Kill International now postponed, the GAIN/Alltech Autumn Grand Prix league will now come down to the wire on the final day with just five points separating the top two riders for what is sure to be a spectacular conclusion to the League.

The remaining places were also not short of drama with Ross Mulholland and Lorcan Gallagher both recording identical times to finish in joint fouth having completed clear rounds in 32.32.  They finished just ahead on Robert Harrison on Cruise Touch who finished in 34.73.

GAIN/Alltech Autumn Grand Prix - Killossery Result
€3,000 kindly sponsored by Ringwood Construction, K&K Packs, Symone Brown, Killossery Lodge Stud & Quagga Rugs

1st Peter Smyth/Victoria Rose 0/0 28.86
2nd Gabriel Slattery/Captains Magic Touch 0/0 30.32
3rd Mervyn Clarke/Money Train 0/0 31.76
=4th Ross Mulholland/Viceroy & Lorcan Gallagher/Cuba Libre 0/0 32.32
6th Robert Harrison/Cruise Touch 0/0 34.73.

30 Starters. 8 in jump off.


PLEASE NOTE:

The next leg of the GAIN/Alltech Autumn Grand Prix League scheduled to take place at Kill International next Sunday, 6th November, at the end of the Champions of the Year Show, has been postponed due to severe flood damage at the venue. Please see www.sji.ie for further details on a new date for the Champions of the Year Show.

Major Geological Airborne Survey takes off across the Border Region

-          Crucial second stage of Tellus Border Project gets ‘off the ground’  

The second stage of the Tellus Border project, a highly significant EU-funded environmental mapping project of Ireland’s six border counties - Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan and Louth – is set to begin this week (weather permitting). The Airborne Survey, conducted by a small aircraft equipped with the very latest geophysical technology, will be flown over the next four to six months and will play a crucial role in the collection and analysis of scientific data on soils, water and rocks across the region.

The aircraft operated and flown by world leaders in this field, Sanders Geophysics Limited from Canada, will be based at St. Angelo Airport, Enniskillen. Over rural areas the aircraft will fly at an altitude of 60m (approx eight times the height of a two-storey house) and this will increase to 240m as it flies over towns and more densely populated areas. All surveying will take place during daylight hours, seven days a week; however this is dependent on weather conditions. The initiative is funded under the European Union’s INTERREG IVA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body.
Ray Scanlon, Senior Geologist at the Geological Survey of Ireland, said “We are delighted to launch this major and extremely exciting phase of the project which will greatly add to our understanding of the environment we live in.”

“ We are working in full co-operation with the Irish Aviation Authority and the flight plans are strictly regulated – however as the sound of the plane overhead is similar to that of a passing lorry, it may disturb sensitive livestock such as horses, poultry, pedigree cattle and deer if they are outdoors. It is therefore important that any animal owner or concerned party contact us as soon as possible so we can discuss any issues and together take action if necessary. ”

An extensive awareness-raising campaign, involving community groups, farming and equine organisations and other relevant parties is currently underway. Anyone requiring further detail about the project can contact the Tellus Border information line on freephone 1800 303 516 or email tellusborder@gsi.ie.

The commencement of the Airborne Survey comes on the back of the recently launched Ground Survey which began in Co Donegal in August. This part of the programme consists of trained teams collecting soil, water and stream samples every four square kilometres across the survey area. As with the airborne survey, every attempt is being made to inform landowners in advance. 

ENDS

For further information please contact Kelly McKee, Seona McGrath or Claire Bonner at Morrow Communications on 02890 393837 or see the project website is

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