Ireland’s Peter Moloney takes top two spots

Peter Moloney’s tactics paid off in today’s Al Shira’aa RIHS Seven Year Old Championship, when he took both first and second place.

First to go in the jump-off, Peter set a decent time of 42.33sec on first ride Cabo Verde II to put a bit of pressure on his rivals. Former Hickstead Derby winner Trevor Breen and Olympic event rider Pippa Funnell followed, with both riders managing to shave around a second off the winning time but having a fence down apiece to keep them off the top spot.

Already guaranteed a win, Peter then had the option of riding a steady clear on his second ride, Pepper D’Or to secure him both first and second place, and he did just this.

“Cabo Verde is a beautiful horse; a lovely model and exactly what you’d want in a breeding stallion. He’s a modern type; blood and bone and a really big, flashy jumper. He’s hopefully one for the top of the sport eventually,” said Peter. “Pepper D’Or is actually a lot greener and this was probably a big ask for him this week, but he’s stepped up nicely.”

Peter is originally from Co Waterford, but he is now based at the Ridgeway Stud in Surrey, where he is busy building his string for the future. “The horses are starting to come to the top now. We’ll push on until the autumn and hopefully do some bigger things. We’re learning more every day and the horses are gaining a lot of experience as well.”

Earlier, Megan James dominated in the Al Shira’aa RIHS Five Year Old championship, taking first, second and fourth spot, with Robert Whitaker (Q Diamaq-Diamant Van't Gelutt) slotting into third.

The win came courtesy of NFS Angelina VII, with Poison Ivy taking second and Labatt taking fourth. Megan is the stable jockey for Laura Renwick, who owns all three horses.

“She’s a really cool horse,” said Megan about her winning ride. “She’s so easy, and she’s got a really big heart, which makes a big difference – she fights for you. She’s cute, and we love her.”

Laura has also competed the mare, including for a recent win at Bolesworth. “I got her back for here, but I reckon we’ll be fighting over her now! We’ll be flipping a coin,” Megan added.

It was the mare’s first time in the International Arena at Hickstead. “I thought she’d be a little bit green – but she loved it,” said Megan.

Nicole Lockhead Anderson was victorious in the Six Year Old division, winning with Emerald Irish Cruise, with Ireland’s Jessica Burke and Billy Utah in second.

Nicole is based with Holly Smith, who is part of the British Showjumping team heading to Tokyo for the Olympic Games. “Holly jumped the horse as a five-year-old a little bit, and we bought her four months ago. Holly thought she’d suit me, and now I’m producing her and seeing what happens,” explained Nicole.

“She had a win the first day here, and was second yesterday, too. She’s amazing. She’s very cheeky; she loves herself, and she wants to do it, so that means a lot. She loved the big grass arena – we’re very lucky to be here. There’s nowhere like Hickstead.”

For all showjumping results, click here.

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