Corless jumps to success at Dublin puissance final

An amateur showjumper from Maree in Oranmore showed he was more than capable of mixing it with the professionals last Friday when finishing joint first in the puissance – better known as the high wall jump – at the Jumping In The City final in Dublin.

Gaby Corless decided to take the plunge and move from the amateur ranks to take part in the showjumping extravaganza, which was the brainchild of Minister Simon Coveney in a bid to give showjumping a higher profile.

Riding Rockstown Park, an Irish Sport Horse he co-owns with his father-in-law, he was one of three riders to clear the 6ft 7inches wall in the final round to share the top-prize.

He had hoped that performance would gain him entry to this year’s Dublin Horse Show – the wall at that event can go to 7ft 2inches, not a huge difference from the height Corless cleared last Friday – but he explained to Tribune Sport this week that there is a different qualification process for that event.

“Yeah, I thought it might get me in but I checked and there is a different system of qualification entirely, but I will be going for it. There is a qualifier in Omagh this Saturday, and one in Cork the following Sunday, so I’ll give those a shot and hope to qualify that way,” says Corless.

Corless was in top company on Friday night, with the likes of World champion Dermott Lennon, world number five Bertram Allen and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Cian O’Connor all competing in the Grand Prix event.

“They were in a separate competition, but that was the class of rider involved on the night, and Enda Carroll from Athenry took part in that event as well,” Corless explains.

The event in Shelbourne Park was the final of a competition that also had legs at the greyhound tracks in Limerick and Cork. Corless says it was hoped to stage it in Galway as well, at the Sportsground on College Road, but because Connacht Rugby use the pitch, that plan had to be shelved.

“It would have been great to have had a leg in Galway, it would bring back the days of the Salthill Show which used to attract huge crowds, but it wasn’t to be this year. I’d be hopeful a venue would be found for next year in Galway,” he said.

He has been involved with horses all his life, learning to ride at Rockmount Riding Centre, and what made Friday’s success all the more sweeter was the fact he was on his own horse, a 12-years-old gelding.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.