Rodolphe Scherer, the French rider who led the IFG three-star field at Punchestown after the first day of dressage, only to slide down a slot when Karen Dixon took over the top spot 24 hours later, regained the advantage during Saturday's dramatic cross country and held on to win by adding a mere quarter of a time fault in yesterday's show jumping.
It was the first time that the strains of the Marseillaise had been heard at Punchestown and also the 26-year-old's first three-star win. Scherer believes that statistic is a good omen, as one of the New Zealand superstars, Andrew Nicholson, scored his first three-star win at Punchestown in 1990 and Scherer is keen to emulate Nicholson's impressive record.
Saturday's cross country caused a considerable shake-up in the placings, with only 16 of the 37 that left the startbox surviving without jumping errors. Only Nicholson, with Dawdle, and Britain's Tanya Liddle (Drunken Disorderly) kept their dressage scores intact and, with clears in yesterday's show jumping, remained on their original marks.
The rate of attrition on cross country day was considerably higher than usual, with 14 horses being retired out on the course, mostly after falls. Britain's Leslie Law and Shear H20 were the only combination eliminated, falling twice in the second water complex. Compatriot Tina Gifford, who fell at the Flight Butt with O'Leary, had a suspected fractured leg X-rayed, but was declared just sound enough to jump her two-star horse The Gangster.
Jane O'Flynn had to withdraw her two-star ride Kilnadeema Star after a heavy fall at the big corner with Ladakha in which she broke her right collarbone.
There were compensations for the Irish selectors, however, with 22-year-old Sasha Harrison from Co Armagh riding the French gelding All Love du Fenaud into fifth place with superb clears across country and over the knockable fences, while Sally Corscadden and Ballinlough Dun an Oir dropped two places to seventh when hitting the first two parts of the combination yesterday.
Also giving hope for a rather more weighty than usual longlist for this year's World Equestrian Games were Joanne Jarden, ninth with Belle Canna, Nicola Cassidy's 10th place with Mr Mullins and Stuart Crawford's pair, Kingatchacuk and Pea Jay, who slotted into 12th and 13th.
Pea Jay's former rider, Susan Shortt, had been hoping that 1998 would be the year that she could finally break her duck and end a succession of runner-up slots. In Rosemary Lowry's talented Hannigan she certainly had the right ammunition to give the home side victory in the Isuzu two-star and was right up at the sharp end in joint-second after the dressage.
And it looked as though Shortt's turn had finally come when overnight leader Tim Collins picked up 6.4 time faults on the steeplechase with Delton Magna. But the Bermuda rider queried the penalties after being called back from a false start and was eventually given a zero that allowed him to vault back above Shortt and hold the advantage yesterday.
A wonderful clear from Shortt and Hannigan kept Irish hopes alive, but the Grade B show jumper Delton Magna had no intention of touching a fence to give Collins his first three-day win and Shortt her ninth bridesmaid slot.
Young David Myerscough was also a first timer in the winner's enclosure when his clear show jumping round with the mare Roses Lane clinched the Barton Transport national junior championship.
