Peter Smyth claimed his first ever Premier Series win this afternoon when taking the third round of the TRM/Horseware Premier Series at Cavan Equestrian Centre with Victoria Rose.
The Strabane native has come close on several occasions in the past and was the long time league leader in 2011 before being caught on the final day by Eddie Moloney. That same year, Smyth went on to claim the TRM/Horseware National Grand Prix League and followed that up with a win in the Autumn Grand Prix league.
Today's win give Smyth his debut success in the Premier Series and the same fate for his mount, Victoria Rose as they fended off a strong field of 35 over Stuart Clarke's track and gives the pairing a second win at the Cavan venue having won the National Grand Prix there in mid May.
Although recording a time of 41.28 was not the fastest of the day, Smyth left all the fences intact to give him the win.
Joan Greene had a notable result with her two mounts, Biscaya D'Eversem and Diamonds For Douglas taking second and third. The Clare based rider was not far off the time set by Smyth when stopping the clock in 41.55 on the chestnut Biscaya D'Eversem. Diamonds for Douglas also kept a clean sheet as they went through the finish in 41.91 to take third.
The winners of the opening round at the Horseware Louth County Show, Paddy O'Donnell and Harristown Princess came agonisingly close to a second win in the Series when recording the fastest time of the day in 40.15. However, with a single fence on the floor, the pair had to settle for fourth place.
Tholm Keane had yet another good result with the Leading Horse from the 2012 Premier Series, Warrenstown You 2, as they broke the beam in 40.30, but also incurred four faults to finish in fifth place.
Vincent Byrne and Mr Rockefeller also came close to a memorable double of wins having won Friday's TRM/Horseware National Grand Prix at Cavan but again, a single pole on the floor kept them off the top spot despite having a quicker time.
Following today's win, Peter Smyth now moves to the top of the Leaderboard in the TRM/Horseware Premier Series on 17 points. Edward Doyle, who finished 10th today and picked 1 point moves to joint second on 16 with Paddy O'Donnell and Alexander Butler in fourth on 15 points.
The next round of the TRM/Horseware Premier Series takes place at the Omagh Show on July 6th. In the meantime, the Meadows Equestrian Centre in Armagh host the next leg of the TRM/Horseware National Grand Prix League next Friday before the Charleville Show host a leg of the league next Sunday.
TRM/HORSEWARE PREMIER SERIES
Cavan Equestrian Centre
€10,000 Kindly sponsored by Cavan Equestrian Centre
1st Peter SmythVictoria Rose 0/0 41.28
2nd Joan Greene/Biscaya S’Eversem 0/0 41.55
3rd Joan Greene/Diamonds For Douglas 0/0 41.91
4th Paddy O'Donnell/Harristown Princess 0/4 40.15
5th Tholm Keane/Warrenstown You 2 0/4 40.30
6th Vincent Byrne/Mr Rockefeller 0/4 40.46
35 Starters