Tinka's Serenade : The veteran with a lot of willpower

Tinka's Serenade is one of the few mares that can boast performing at the highest level at 18 years old . The daughter of Tinka's Boy has been competed by Billy Twomey at the European Championships, the World Championships, the Olympic Games and at the World and Nations Cup Finals. The two have given the impression that they have always been at the highest level, as they have been together for almost 10 years."We got her when she was nine. She was in England and jumped 1m30 with her previous rider " explains Billy. The chestnut had so little experience when she joined the Irish team and yet he was sure that she would be very successful. "I felt that she had a lot of ability and a lot of means, even if she had her own unique style , I knew she had the capacity to jump the larger courses." The rider who is also co-owner with Sue Davis took his time with Tinka to produce her to the highest level and they made their international debut at Chantilly in 2009. During their second competition, the results were apparent as they finished in second place in the big class in Barcelona The mare had many top performances thereafter. They secured victories in Zurich, Basel, Birmingham and Dublin in front of a jubilant Irish crowd. But perhaps their biggest victory to date came in Paris "My best memory is indisputably our victory in the final of the Top Ten in Paris in 2011, it's a dream for any rider to win this class." That night was marked as highlight of the mares career. She was one of only two double clears in the class and was faster than Coriana van Klapscheut and Eric Lamaze by eighteen hundredths of a second. "Shes a real fighter. She wants to give the best of herself all the time and this is an incredible quality, "says Billy. It is true that the mare can cause surprise by her unusual style over oxers, she especially impresses the crowd with her willpower.