HANLEY TAKES EIGHTH IN PARIS HERMES GRAND PRIX
IN A day of mixed fortunes
at the magnificent Grand Palais arena in Paris, Mayo’s Cameron Hanley was best
of the Irish in today’s (Sunday) feature class, the 400,000 euro Hermès Grand
Prix, while two Mayo brothers, Alex and Michael Duffy, also placed Ireland third
in the Under-25 Team Competition.
Only four of the 37 combinations who
entered the French Grand Prix managed to go clear in the first round, with the
last difficult line of fences decimating the field, and also denying the four
Irish riders who took part a chance at the jump-off.
Hanley, who is making a spectacular comeback in international show jumping after a two year lay-off due to a serious injury, was amongst the fastest of the four-faulters, and ended up claiming eighth place on Eleonore Paschoud and Yves Bouvier’s bay gelding Antello Z for 10,000 euro in prize money.
The Grand Prix and its
first prize of 132,000 euro was claimed by German ace Marcus Ehning and the grey
stallion Cornado NRW, who recorded one of only two double clear rounds in the
class.
In the morning’s senior two-phase class, a resurgent Jessica
Kürten and the stallion Arezzo VDL produced a sixth place against the clock,
while Cameron Hanley and Dundee v. Dwerse Hagen finished seventh. The
competition was won by Roger Yves Bost and Lady Georgina Forbes’s stallion
Castle Forbes Vivaldo vh Costersveld.
Later, brothers Alex and Michael
Duffy claimed third place of ten international teams competing in the elite “Les
Talents Hermès” Under 25 competition.
Alex, riding Ecurie Galoubet’s
chestnut gelding Felix XXVIII, had two fences down, while brother Michael on
John Murphy’s grey gelding Murchu went clear over both rounds to give Ireland a
total of eight faults.
The competition was won by the British team of
Jessie Drea on the Irish Sport Horse Touchable, and Louise Saywell with the grey
mare Hello Winner, who returned a zero score total, and collected almost 4,000
euro each in prize money.
Meanwhile at the two-star show in Vidauban,
700 kilometres from Paris on the sunny south coast, Kilkenny-born Eddie Moloney
took second place in the Grand Prix today with the Irish Sport Horse Douglas
Hill, losing out to French winner Dorothée Amar and Nemo de Belou by just under
two seconds.
ends
BREEDING
Douglas Hill (ISH) – 2006 bay
gelding by Ard VDL Douglas (KWPN) out of Persian Clover (ISH), by Clover Hill
(ID). Bred by Dominic Vallely, Co. Armagh. Owner: Miriam Moloney. Rider: Eddie
Moloney (IRL)
