Luke Drea heads the Pegus Horse Feed CIC** leaderboard at the Kilguilkey House International Horse Trials following the conclusion of the first two phases today. Under clear blue skies, the Wicklow-based rider impressed the judges with Anne Bannon’s ‘Gorsehill Pearl’ in the dressage arena and went on to record a faultless performance in the showjumping ring. Cork’s Patricia Ryan lies in second place with Carol and Tom Henry’s Ballylynch HP while Irish Olympian Joseph Murphy completes the top three with Westwinds Hercules (owned by Alison Schmutz and Andrew Tinkler).

In the Fernhill Sport Horses CIC* competition, former Pony eventing medallist Lucy Latta leads the field with Jessica Harrington’s ‘Jantar.’ Fraser Duffy lies in second position with Fernhill Nearly Darc while Camilla Speirs takes third and fourth place ahead of tomorrow’s final Cross Country phase with BT Cloud Nine and BT Pickapocket.

Meanwhile, the short-listed ponies vying for team places in the FEI European Championships for Ponies have been in action this afternoon. After two phases, the CNCP** is led by Emma Kennedy with Laburnum Ineer while Hannah Adams and Toberpatrick Flash head the leaderboard in the hydeequine.com CNCP1* Championship which is running concurrently with the event.

Tomorrow, the focus turns to the cross-country course; where once again, International designer Eric Winter has posed some interesting questions. The track features twenty-one natural fences including banks, logs, ditches and water. The course has a good cover of grass and the ground has been aerovated to ensure perfect going.

Now in its second year, the event is continuing to grow from strength to strength and the organisers are delighted to welcome Pegus Horse Feed and Fernhill Sport Horses on board as title sponsors for this year’s event. The organisers are also grateful for the support of a wide range of sponsors and supporters from across the country.

The Cross Country phase gets underway at Kilguilkey House from 10am tomorrow with a range of National classes scheduled to start at the same time. For the first time, the CIC* and CIC** classes will be available to watch live on the Kilguilkey House website. Further information is available on www.eventingireland.com or www.kilguilkeyhouse.com.

Results to Date (Eventing Ireland)