With five of the 28 starters going through to a jump-off, Sally Goding and Spring Willow set the pace with a clear in 40.51seconds.

Three poles fell for Gemma Ellison with Helsinki VDL, before the 2009 winner Laura Renwick and Iron Lady Van De Kranenburg knocked almost 2 seconds off the lead time.

Allana Clutterbuck and Vykinbay then had a fence down, leaving Galway’s Jessica Burke to chase the top prize.

First Queen Elizabeth II Cup Win

The Irish rider took 0.83 seconds off Laura Renwick’s time to land the Queen Elizabeth II Cup for the first time.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet to be honest!” said a delighted Jessica. “When you look back on all the days I spent at home watching Hickstead on the TV, you grow up dreaming of things like this, so to put my name on the trophy is very special.”

Former maths teacher Burke moved to England from her native Galway five years ago to ride for the Arion Stud in Hampshire. She immediately made an impact in the sport, winning her first international Grand Prix soon after making the move across the water.

The Horse of a Lifetime

With Liam Nicholas’ 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse Express Trend, Jessica has gone on to have five-star success and represented Ireland on Nations Cup teams. The pair were also the winners of the LeMieux All-England Grand Prix at Hickstead’s September Tour in 2023.

“He is amazing, I don’t really have the words for him. He is the horse of a lifetime for me, he’s changed my life in a lot of ways and taught me some good lessons, so to win this with him is really special,” she added.

Jessica now has her sights set on a new Hickstead ambition – to be selected for the Irish team for the Agria Nations Cup of Great Britain. “I definitely want to jump on the team next year – that’s the next target for sure. It’s an amazing arena and an amazing show,” she said.

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Eight combinations out of the 28 starters jumped clear in the first round.

It wasn’t until the final three riders – all former winners of the Queen’s Cup – that the jump-off really took off. Two-time winner Ireland’s David Simpson came in on new ride Flashback VL and shaved more than 2 seconds off Sammie-Jo Coffin’s leading time.

Shane Breen and Haya went clear in 37.42secs with only Harriet Biddick, a winner of the class in 2017 on Galway Bay Jed left to jump with Night of Glory OL.

Despite their best effort, crossing the line clear in 38.49 seconds, they were forced to concede the win to Breen and Haya.

It was a fourth success in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup for Breen, having claimed the prize in 2008, 2013, 2022 and now 2023. He just one win short of the late Liz Edgar’s record of five wins in total.

Paying tribute to his willing partner, Haya, Hickstead-based Shane Breen said:

“This one’s maybe better, because it’s Haya’s second time winning. I thought it’d be nice if she could do the double, and that’s why I chose to keep her for this class. I have a great respect for her – she’s such a nice mare, in every way. She’s so careful, and just an incredible horse to have.”

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It was the first time the 34-year-old from Co Carlow has competed in the class at the Longines Royal International Horse Show.

Though the Derbyshire-based Irish rider incurred a 4 second penalty for knocking the second part of the Devil’s Dyke, he crossed the line in a time of 128.84 seconds to go into the lead.

For a moment it looked like defending champions Gemma Stevens and Flash Cooley, last to go, might knock Scala off top spot, but when she also picked up a 4 second time penalty at the final fence, her time of 129.59 seconds relegated her to second place.

Stevens also produced the fastest round of the day on her other horse Santiago Bay, but with two fences down they finished on a total time of 130.52 seconds.

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In a class where just one fence separated the top six teams at the finish, Meath’s Alexander Butler was Ireland’s pathfinder. Butler and Chilli B finished with four faults picked up at the second last fence.

Galway’s Andrew Bourns with Sea Topblue (ISH) also came home with four faults, with the the last part of the combination their only fence to fall.

Tipperary’s Shane Breen  gave Ireland a huge boost with a perfect clear round with the 9-year-old stallion Vistogrand.

Twenty-year-old Jack Ryan from Kilkenny was last to go for Ireland in the first round and came home with eight faults with the Irish Sport Horse BBS McGregor. 

That left Ireland in a share of third place with Belgium and Brazil on eight faults at the halfway stage. France and Germany shared the lead on four faults while hosts Britain were on 12 faults in sixth with Sweden in seventh on 20 faults.

Second Round

In the second round, Butler and Chilli B repeated their first round score of four faults.

Bourns and The Irish Sport Horse Sea Topblue produced a brilliant clear round to keep Ireland still within one fence of the leaders.

Shane Breen and Vistogrand had one fence down for four faults. With one rider remaining for each team, Germany had taken the outright lead, while France and Brazil were close behind in second.

Jack Ryan and the 10-year-old gelding BBS McGregor (ISH) produced an outstanding clear as last to go for Ireland and that left Michael Blake’s team on a final score of 12 faults.

Belgium also finished on 12 but a faster time saw them take fourth while Ireland finished fifth. Three second round clears for Britain saw them stay on their first round score of 12 faults to finish sixth, while Sweden finished seventh on a 36 fault total.

Germany had a chance to win if their last rider jumped clear but when Philipp Weishaupt had a fence down with Asathir, Germany would go into a three-way jump-off with France and Brazil who all finished on eight faults.

France eventually took the winners trophy with the fastest clear of the jump-off while Germany finished second and Brazil took third.

Ireland’s fifth place finish in Hickstead means they collect 70 league points, moving them up to 220 points and are now in equal seventh place on the Europe Division 1 league table with one round remaining.

Ireland’s last opportunity to gain points in Europe Division 1 will be in their home Nations Cup at the Dublin Horse Show for the Aga Khan Trophy on August 19th, after which the top seven teams in Europe Division 1 will qualify for the Barcelona finale.

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The Kerryman made his Hickstead debut last year when finishing runner-up in the Hy Equestrian British 1.10m Amateur Championship.

This summer he is aiming to win the British Speed Derby, the feature class on the Saturday of the Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby Meeting (23-26 June).

The Speed Derby includes many of Hickstead’s iconic fences, including the Devil’s Dyke and the Irish Bank. The Speed Derby sees riders gallop round the Longines International Arena at top speed, where the fastest time wins. There is a 4 second time fault, however, for any fences knocked down.

Another Irish jockey, Robbie Power previously competed at Hickstead, winning a class in 2013 with his sister Esib’s former event horse Doonaveeragh O One. The Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand National winner was a successful showjumper in his younger days, winning team gold at the Junior Europeans.

Former National Hunt jockey Paul Carberry is also hoping to qualify for the Speed Derby. The Aintree Grand National winner has been competing in showjumping classes since his retirement from the track in 2016.

The final line-up for the British Speed Derby will be decided by the Speed Derby qualifier, which takes place on the Thursday morning of the show.

The Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby Meeting takes places from 23-26 June.

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