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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Jessica Burke took the Minerva Stakes going clear in 60.54 seconds.

The Galway rider and her willing companion Impulss showed they meant business from the moment their round began. They attacked the course with determination and claimed the second International class of day one by more than three seconds, in a competition that saw 17 clears.

Britain’s Sienna Charles and Valkiry de Zance took the runner-up spot, stopping the clock, clear in 64.00 seconds.

Irish riders filled the next three places with Shane Breen and Z7 Ipswich third in 65.82 seconds, with the Coyle brothers from Derry filling the next two spots.

Daniel and Legacy were fourth in 66.38 seconds, with Jordan and For Gold next best with a time of 66.49 seconds.

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Taylor Vard’s team of Thomas Ryan, Jessica Burke, Kevin Gallagher and Jenny Rankin finished the two rounds of jumping with just four faults.

Tipperary’s Ryan with Springfield 21 and Sligo’s  Gallagher with Ballypatrick Flamenco (ISH) both jumped foot-perfect double clear rounds.

Galway’s Jessica Burke with Namamia and Tyrone’s Jenny Rankin with Carmela Z were also clear in the first round.

A jump-off was needed to decide the winners with Belgium coming out on top ahead of Spain in second and Ireland in third.

The remaining qualifying places for the EEF Nations Cup Final went to Sweden and Portugal.

The Longines EEF Series is a Show Jumping Nations Cup circuit created by the European Equestrian Federation which replaced the FEI Nations Cup Europe Division 2.

Ireland is a Europe Division 1 nation but can field teams in selected EEF Series rounds.

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Tipperary’s Lynch maintained his excellent recent form at the Hubside Tour in France, after he recorded an impressive victory in their two-star Grand Prix.

Riding the 14-year-old mare Spring Dark, Lynch came out on top after an 18-horse jump-off to take the top prize of €7,500.

A clear jump-off round in 40.82 seconds saw Lynch finish 0.16 of a second ahead of French runner-up Marc Dilasser and Corona Z. Another French rider, Alexis Deroubaix, was a further second and a half back in third with Carmen du Plessis.

The strength of Irish showjumping is evident in the success at Youth level. In France, Jack Gateau Conlon took victory with Samba Van De Groenheuvel in the 1m20 Pony class at Le Mans in France. He produced the only clear round of the competition to take the win while he also took third place aboard Sienna Dusky Sky.

Tipperary’s Max Wachman, another promising young Irish showjumping rider, recorded a hugely impressive result, when he took victory in Saturday’s feature class at Vejer De La Frontera. Up against a top class field of some of the world’s most experienced riders, Wachman riding Brooklyn De Hus finished with over a second to spare over Brazilian runner-up Pedro Veniss with Ballad Of Colors.

Jessica Burke and The Irish Sport Horse Express Trend took victory recently in this two-star Grand Prix at Sentower Park in Belgium.

A large field of 57 starters went to post, with Gort-based Burke coming out on top after a 13-horse jump-off with Express Trend (ISH).

Britain’s Harry Charles finished second with Valkiry de Zance, just ahead of Morocco’s Abdelkebir Ouaddar and Istanbull V.H Ooievaarshof in third.

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