SLATTERY TAKES OPENING GAIN/ALLTECH AUTUMN GRAND PRIX

Joint National Speed Champion, Gabriel Slattery got the GAIN/Alltech Autumn Grand Prix League off to a flying start at the end of the 6 day Cavan Indoor Championships on Sunday.

Riding Captains Magic Touch, Slattery blitzed his rivals to take the opening leg of the league.  Having won the National Speed Championship title recently along with Ger O'Neill, Slattery steered John Byrne's gelding to victory in the €4,500 class.

Recent National Grand Prix League Champion and Runner Up, Peter Smyth and Mervyn Clarke slotted into the second and third respectively.  Smyth brought Mary Barron's Hermione Iv to finish second with Clarke steering Money Train to third. 

Premier Series Champion Eddie Moloney took fourth with Tom McGurk's Macushla R while Young Riders Michael Duffy and Edward Doyle were fifth and sixth with Mountain King and Flexing.

The next leg of the GAIN/Alltech Autumn Grand Prix League takes place on October 2nd at Kernan's Equestrian Centre in Crossmaglen.

GAIN/Alltech Autumn Grand Prix League 1st leg - Cavan
€4,500 kindly sponsored by Cavan Equestrian Centre
1st Captains Magic Touch/Gabriel Slattery
2nd Hermione Iv/Peter Smyth
3 Money Train/Mervyn Clarke
4 Macushla R/Eddie Moloney
5 Mountain King/Martin Duffy
6 Flexing/Edward Doyle

The League, which begins on September 18th at the Cavan Indoor Championships, sees the two companies join together with ShowjumpingIreland for the first time.  Following their successful partnership in last year's Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, GAIN and Alltech have come together again for the annual finale of the Irish Showjumping Season.

The Autumn Grand Prix League was won in the past by riders such as, Cian O'Connor, Greg Broderick, Conor Swail and last year, John Floody provided a memorable spectacle with a number of wins on the famous Larkhill Cruiser, the league has been hotly contested in the past with several riders targeting the league prize at the end of the season. Again this year, there is almost €45,000 on offer throughout the entire duration of the league with the overall league winner receiving €3,000 while the runner up and Leading Horse's Owner will both collect €1,000 for their efforts. The league gets underway next week at the end of the Cavan Indoor Championships before moving to Kernan's in Crossmaglen on October 2nd.  From there, it goes to Eglinton on the 11th, Kildare International on the 16th, back to Cavan for the 23rd and Killossery on the 31st of October.  Kill International then host the final two legs of the league at the Champions of the Year Show on November 6th ahead of the Final leg on November 20th at the Kildare venue.

ShowjumpingIreland Chairman Christy Murphy commented: '' The Autumn Grand Prix League is a very prestigious series and we are delighted to welcome GAIN and Alltech for the League.  It is fantastic to have the backing of these two high profile companies and we hope that it is the beginning of a long and healthy relationship.''

 
Both GAIN and Alltech would like to wish the best of luck to all the riders, owners and venues participating in this years league.

ALEXANDER BUTLER IS CROWNED 2011 NATIONAL SHOWJUMPING CHAMPION
 
Meath's Alexander Butler was this evening crowned the 2011 National Showjumping Champion following a win in the final days class with Harold McGahern's Will Wimble.
 
Over the three days, Butler was well placed having finished eighth in the opening day's qualifier and winning the second qualifier on Wednesday.  They then went into the final round lying in second just five points behind overnight leader Ger O'Neill.  Unfortunately for O'Neill a fence down in the first round cost them their shot at the title.
 
Butler, however, made no mistake in either round to produce two clears and stopped the clock in a time of 62.57 to bring them to the top of the table taking the maximum points to bring them to 125 points overall.  Their tally meant that they are crowned the 2011 National Showjumping Champions.
 
Last year's Champion Eddie Moloney put up a brave fight to retain his crown however, with John McDonald's Chatsworth Dan, they fell just short in a time of 67.16 to put them in second to give them an overall total of 115 points and they finished second.
 
Overseas visitor, Andrew Davies and Elektrik took third in the class, however they are ineligible to pick up National Championship points.
 
Ger O'Neill, who lead the way overnight with Paul O'Byrne's Cassidee had a single pole on the floor round to keep them out of the Jump Off and meant that they could not collect the National Champions Trophy.
 
The ShowjumpingIreland National Grand Prix Championship was kindly supported by Dubai Duty Free.
 
 
SJI NATIONAL GRAND PRIX CHAMPIONSHIP SUPPORTED BY DUBAI DUTY FREE
 
1. Alexander Butler/Will Wimble 0/0 62.57
2. Eddie Moloney/Chatsworth Dan 0/0 67.16
3. Andrew Davies (GB)/Elektrik 0/0 68.97
4. Paddy O'Donnell/Harristown Princess 0/4 56.62
5. Joan Greene/Biscaya D'Eversem 0/4 57.81
6. David Blake/Camiro De Haar Z 0/4 67.72
7. Neal Fearon/Espri 1/4 61.83
8. Robert Harrison/Cruise Touch 4/4 60.71
9. Peter Smyth/Corrib House 0/8 65.61
10. Peter Smyth/Hermione Iv 0/12 61.38
 
33 Starters

O'NEILL AND SLATTERY SHARE SPEED CHAMPIONSHIP

The 2011 ShowjumpingIreland National Speed Championship Final has wound up in the most exciting way possible this afternoon at the Ennis Showgrounds.

Going into today's class, Gabriel Slattery lead the way with Castlelawn Kannan having won on the opening day and taken third in yesterdays qualifier.  Slattery did as much as he could to catch the early standard set by Young Rider Michael Duffy with Shalom Hip Hop who set the time to beat at 62.64.  Slattery then slotted into third with a time of 63.65 having moved up in the draw to accommodate those with multiple mounts.

The reigning Speed Champion, Ger O'Neill then had the advantage of being last to go and he made no mistake with Elizabeth Van Amerongan's Zicarla T to take the class in a time of 61.50. 

With O'Neill winning the class it brought him to 134.5 points, enough to draw level with Gabriel Slattery and the Championship was declared a tie.

Following the win, O'Neill commented; ''I was delighted with the mare and for the owner, Elizabeth Van Amerongan.  We have 4 or 5 horses together that we have bought last year to be brought on and sold, she is a fantastic owner and I am delighted for her especially. It is fantastic to turn around and win again but there was no better man to put up the fight than Gabriel.  I'm looking forward to the Grand Prix now and I'm hoping everything goes right on the day, I believe Cassidee can do it.''

The ShowjumpingIreland National Grand Prix Championship, supported by Dubai Duty Free, will be getting underway shortly at Ennis with Ger O'Neill leading the Championship on Cassidee.

SJI NATIONAL SPEED CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
RESULT

1. Ger O'Neill/Zicarla T 0/61.50
2. Michael Duffy/Shalom Hip Hop 0/62.64
3. Vincent Byrne/Mr Rockafeller 0/62.68
4. Gabriel Slattery/Castlelawn Kannan 0/63.65
5. Ger O'Neill/Jays Lad 0/63.67
6. Jessica Burke/Woodfield Samenco 0/64.50

37 Starters.

O'NEILL & SLATTERY LEAD ON THE FINAL DAY

Ger O'Neill and Paul O'Byrne's Stallion Cassidee will go into the final day as leaders in the National Grand Prix Championship at Ennis

Day 2 of the ShowjumpingIreland National Horse Championships saw some minor changes at the top of the leaderboards for the National Grand Prix and Speed Championships.

In the Grand Prix Championship, supported by Dubai Duty Free, Alexander Butler steered Harold McGahern's Will Wimble to win the second Qualifier with a superb double clear stopping the clock in 42.83 to move second in the leaderboard for the National Champions title.  They move to just five points behind overnight leaders Ger O'Neill and Cassidee who took third in yesterday's Qualifier and they lead the way going into the Final on 73 points.   Last years National Champion Eddie Moloney now lie in third on 61 points.

Anne Marie Fitzpatrick took second in yesterday's class with Harry Fitzpatrick's Finders Keepers 2 with a marginally slower time of 42.94 just ahead of the overnight leader, O'Neill and Cassidee who broke the beam in 43.03.

Gabriel Slattery remains ahead in the Speed Championship on 79 points following a third place finish behind Paddy O'Donnell in Wednesday's Qualifier.  O'Donnell steered Cruising Modo to victory in a time of 59.79 ahead of Vincent Byrne on Mr Rockafeller who recorded a time of 59.91.  Slattery was third with Castlelawn Kannan.

While in the Ladies Championships, Avril Perrin improved on her second place in the opening day's qualifier with a win in Wednesday's class on Andrew Perrin's Shadow Rock.

Thursday will see the 2011 National Champions crowned following the action in each division thorughout the day at Ennis.

DRENNAN, SLATTERY & O'NEILL TAKE WINS ON THE FIRST DAY AT ENNIS

Gabriel Slattery is presented with his winner's rosette by Janet Currie following his win on Castlelawn Kannan in the first Speed Championship Qualifier at Ennis on Tuesday

The first day of the ShowjumpingIreland National Horse Championships at Ennis went off with some fantastic competitions on Tuesday with the first of the Qualifiers for the  National Ladies, Speed and Grand Prix Championships.

The opening Ladies Championship Qualifier was a very competitive affair with 12 combinations through to the jump off and just 2 seconds separating the first 6 in the class.   However, it was Kilkenny's Gemma Drennan who came out best of all with her mother Nora's Gods Gift.  A regular combination seen in Young Rider Classes and throughout the Ballymaloe Ladies League, Drennan is a regular winner on the circuit and was the winner of the Speed Derby class at the National Pony and Young Rider Championships.  Her time of 30.65 could not be beaten and she ensured that she is part of the 40 combinations in Thursday's final.

Meanwhile, the Speed Championship Qualifier also turned out to be a competitive class with Galway's Gabriel Slattery taking the maximum points on the opening day. 

This year, the Speed Championship will mirror the points system of the National Grand Prix Championship to decide an overall National Speed Champion. 

Slattery, riding his own Castlelawn Kannan, landed the first blow on Tuesday with a scintilating time of 59.79 to take the win in the class.  Reigning National Champion Eddie Moloney steered Foxy Cleopatra R into second in a time of 60.14 while the reigning National Speed Champion Ger O'Neill took third with Zicarla T.

The big class of the day, the SJI National Grand Prix Championship Qualifier which is supported by Dubai Duty Free, went to a combination who have turned several heads this year in Ger O'Neill and Cassidee.  The reigning Speed Champion, O'Neill put in a foot perfect round in a very fast time to take the maximum 38 points in the opening day to put him in pole position for Wednesday's Class.

Winner of the recent Pegus Horse Feeds Young Rider Final at the National Pony & Young Rider Championships, Michael Duffy slotted into second place.  Although he recorded the fastest time of the day, a single error left them in second place. 

Former National Speed Champion, Joan Greene steered Tim O'Shea's Biscaya D'Eversem into third, while fourth went to the oversea's rider Felix McCartney. 

Reigning National Champion Eddie Moloney finished 7th with John McDonald's Premier Series Champion, Chatsworth Dan to give him 31 points, 7 behind the early leader Ger O'Neill.

The ShowjumpingIreland National Horse Championships continue on Wednesday at the Ennis Showgrounds with the second Qualifiers for the 3 National Championship Classes.