The young Irish rider Bertram Allen has been on tremendous form this season and has certainly given the Irish WEG selectors something to think about. This is Bertrams second Longines 5* Grand Prix win this season on Molly Malone V , with his first in Lummen, Belgium in May. Riding the 10 year old mare Molly Malone V (Kannan x Cavalier) Bertram was the only Irish rider that made it through to the 8 horse jump-off. The pressure was really on for Bertram, who turned 19 last week. However, he was calm and collected and the managed to stay on top until the end. Bertram crossed the finish line with a time of 39.67 seconds and a clear round. The on form American rider Kent Farrington finished in second place on Uceko (Celano x Koriander) with a time of 40.97 seconds. Two French riders took joint third place, Timothee Anciaume aboard Padock du Plessis (42.59 seconds) and Jerome Hurel aboard Quartz Rouge (42.59seconds). With terrible weather conditions and heavy rainfall all night and morning the ground was quite heavy, with some riders withdrawing from the class on health and safety reasons. Only 28 riders completed the first round , 6 retired and Johnny Pals was eliminated after his stallion Vignet decided to stop in front of the penultimate vertical. It was a fantastic course set by Irish designer Alan Wade. The atmosphere was electric and it was a brilliant win for Bertram Allen as it is every riders dream to win the Dublin Grand Prix. We will have to wait and see when the Irish Chef d'équipe Robert Splaine will announce his team for the World Equestrian Games, and whether or not Bertrams performances this year have been enough to earn him a place on the team. Click here for all of the results of CSIO5* Dublin.
