Billy Twomey, the Cork show jumper who so narrowly missed the cut for the Millstreet World Cup qualifier just over two weeks ago, more than made amends by winning the Spanish round in a four-horse jump-off at Oviedo on Saturday.

The 22-year-old, who has been based at Michael Whitaker's Nottinghamshire yard for the past three seasons, got a last-minute call-up for the Spanish trip and only travelled out on Thursday. But he got straight down to business, making it through the Friday night eliminator that had denied him on home ground and then holding off his more senior rivals in Saturday's decider.

Under the new World Cup formula, which has bowed to the dictates of live television coverage, the Friday night class allows just 20 through to the Cup round itself. In Millstreet, 21 were clear in the eliminator, but Twomey and the Dutch stallion Conquest II were left on the sidelines, thwarted by a mere 300ths of a second as the slowest of the clears.

There were no such hiccups in Oviedo, however, and Twomey went on to produce the only double clear in the Cup to claim the honours from South African David McPherson, with Millstreet winner Lutz Gripshover third ahead of Frenchman Jean Marc Nicolas.

Co Down rider Conor Swail also kept the Irish flag flying, winning in Milan on Friday night, 24 hours before his compatriots gathered in Co Kildare for the show jumping awards ball where Co Armagh producer Frank Kernan, father of former junior European champion James, was presented with the roll of honour.

Tom Slattery took the leading rider of the year award after his victory in the Land Rover outdoor league, while Michael McKeigue, whose stallion Coille Mor Hill did so much winning for Slattery during the season, was honoured as owner of the year.

Other winners were Irish indoor league champion, Clement McMahon, young rider Cian O'Connor, who notched up a speed class double in Millstreet, junior rider James Hogg and rookie of the year, Dermott Lennon.