In just over a week we will know who the 2015 World Cup Champion will be. Over the next few days we will focus on the horses who have been named as favourites to take the title. Yesterday we focused on Cornet d'Amour, last year's champion. Today we will concentrate on Bertram Allen's fantastic mare Molly Malone V.
- Name : Molly Malone V (AES)
- Rider : Bertram Allen (IRL)
- Age : 11 years
- Breeding : Kannan x Cavalier
- Owner : Ballywalter Farms
- Percentage of clear rounds this winter : 45%
- Major Achievement : Winning on the opening day of the World Equestrian Games and eventually finishing 7th individually.
Notable Achievements :
Originally competed by Bertram Allen's former trainer Billy Twomey, Molly Malone did not start her career with Allen until he turned 16. Together they competed at the 2013 European Championships for Young Riders, where they won a silver medal, before quickly progressing to 5* level. After several wins over 1.50m courses, the pair soon showed their worth when they won the CSIO5* 1.60m Grand Prix in Lummen last year. One 5* victory was not enough however, as a few months later the top pair triumphed on their home ground in Dublin, winning the prestigious Grand Prix there too.
Perhaps their greatest feat as of yet came in Normandy last year at the World Equestrian Games. The young combination proved that age was irrelevant as they won the opening speed leg of the Games, trumping some of the world's best and most experienced riders. In the end Molly Malone and Bertram finished seventh with the Irish team and also finished seventh individually, a huge result, considering there were over 100 riders competing at the Games.
Over the winter season, Allen and Molly Malone had a few quiet victories at 2* and 3* level before winning the FEI World Cup in Verona, Italy. This victory truly propelled them onto the world stage and marked them as one of the favourites to take the title in Las Vegas. For this 19 year old rider and his trusty mare, this would truly be fantastic. All of these fantastic results have allowed Allen to climb the Longines World Rankings at a fast pace, even reaching 10th spot this month.
Statistics :
Between October 2014 and March 2015, Molly Malone V and Allen competed over eleven 1.60m courses. Out of these eleven courses, they went clear five times. That gives us a rough percentage of 45%, please note that these statistics are purely theoretical and do not take into account neither rider nor horses fitness or any other factors.
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All photos - Equnews.be and Equnews.fr
