Gorey's Sophie Richards secured a bronze medal for Ireland when finishing third on SRS Adventure in the CCI1* class for six-year-olds at the FEI world breeding championships for young event horses in Le Lion d'Angers, France on Sunday morning.
A much-admired Irish Sport Horse gelding by the Scarteen Stud-based stallion Newmarket Venture, the chestnut, who is owned by the rider and partner Steven Smith, was seventh after dressage on a penalty score of 47.3. He improved a place on Saturday when the Ingrid Klimke-ridden Weisse Duene, who led after the first phase on 38.60, picked up 20 jumping penalties across the country while the vast majority of the 34 starters went clear.
Between sixth and second in the show jumping phase, it was a closely-packed field and Richards' clear on the clean-jumping SRS Adventure put pressure on those above her. Next in, Christoffer Forsberg of Sweden had two fences down with Quinn to drop from fifth to 14th while the Polish combination of Kamil Rajnert on Libertina left one pole on the ground to slip a place to fifth.
A clear from Merel Blom with The Quizmaster assured the Dutch rider of third place or better on 45.2 and she was the left second, with Richards moving up to third, when the host nation's Stanislas de Zuchowicz knocked the first and 10th fences with Vingt Vingt to plummet from second to 10th.
The all-conquering Michael Jung, a member of Germany's gold medal-winning team at the most recent European, Olympic and World Championships and individual European and Olympic champion, had just over six points in hand as he entered the show jumping arena on fischerIncantas.
Jung need the buffer too to stay in front as his mount lowered the first element of the double at nine. However, this was the bay’s only mistake and the German combination took gold on a three-phase total of 43.1.
A clear show jumping round moved Co Kildare's Melanie Young up from 13th to ninth on Caroline Bjoerk's Luidam gelding Ard Cluedo (51.9) while Co Wexford's Maria Byrne dropped two places to 16th when the OBOS Quality 004 mare Class Affair lowered the front pole of the oxer over the water tray.
