Sameh El Dahan records a win at Balmoral in his adopted home of Northern Ireland
Tuesday 20 May 2025
It was a British whitewash in the first day’s feature class of the 2025 Balmoral Horse Show as Brits made a clean sweep of the top four places in the Clive Richardson International Stakes.
Sixteen from a field of 39 made the trip successfully to access the jump-off and it was tight at the top. Sameh El Dahan, back in his adopted home of Northern Ireland after his sojourn to America, found the shortest route on Joanne Sloan Allen’s home-bred 12-year-old WKD Toronto (Tornesch 1042 x Carnaval Drum) to edge ahead by 0.13 seconds. James Whitaker flew into second place on his Argento 10-year-old Just Call Me Henry with Joe Fernyhough on Calcourt Particle and Simon Buckley’s Millfield Hickson in third and fourth.
“Balmoral is such an important show for us all and we normally plan to compete here each year. Toronto [aka Zak] is a home-bred which always makes a win for the team extra special and a very proud moment,” said Sameh. “I was first to go with 15 fast combinations coming after me, so I knew I’d have to give my all. I have a very fast horse and just needed to be smooth and forward, but I was annoyed at myself as I rode out of the ring as I felt I’d added a stride to the last, leaving the door ajar for the rest of the field.
“It ended up I’d done enough everywhere else and I held onto the lead and a home win for Sycamore Stables and great prep for the summer season ahead. My horses are in good form and I’m looking forward to competing at the summer series in Spruce Meadows, and maybe Hickstead and Dublin,” Sameh added.
Brits outnumbered the Irish in the CAB Group & Dunlop Homes International Grand Prix supported by Bottlegreen, with nine British riders pitted against eight Irish as 17 from a field of 35 qualified for the jump-off. Nonetheless, the Emerald Isle won out and filled out the top two places, British-based Jessica Burke taking victory on the 15-year-old Express Trend with a 1.05 second advantage over Francis Derwin and Flexi K. James headed a British bunch, steering Just Call Me Henry into third spot ahead of Joe on Calcourt Particle in fourth. Rebecca Marsh riding Stevie G, Adrian Whiteway on BP Baxter and Simon Buckley’s Millfield Hickson all provided double clears for fifth, sixth and seventh places respectively.
Joe didn’t land a win in the three days of competition, but his podium consistency paid dividends as he picked up the Leading Rider Award.
Harry Wood, now based in Ireland, notched up a victory double with Steven Smith’s Casino’s Boom. After heading the MCL Group International Speed Challenge over a 2* 1.35m track, beating their 21 rivals by 1.24 seconds, the pair built on their confidence. Twenty-four hours later, they were again in the top spot, the Casino Berlin Old x Argentinus nine-year-old taking the 25-strong 2* 1.35m Accumulator with 1.74 seconds to spare. Joe slotted the Westpoint Quickfire nine-year-old Calcourt Countdown into second place.
James Smith and Sandy McLean notch up wins in Belgium and Sophie Evans is a winner in Madrid
James Smith notched up a winning double and almost made it a hat-trick in Bonheiden, Belgium.
James was unbeatable in an early 2* 1.40m two-phase, taking on and beating 74 rivals with 1.12 seconds in hand on the speedy 14-year-old Eagele Z (Eldorado VD Zeshoek x Ramiro Z).
James was less than half a second from winning the following World Ranking 2* 1.45m with Juno Rose 23. Sixty-two riders came forward over a 12-fence course with 25% - 16 competitors – going into round two against the clock, two carrying one time fault each. With nine double clears evident, it was all about the clock, James and the Erdento x Nissan Caretano Z 11-year-old mare settling for second only 0.39 seconds behind the winner, Belgium’s Pieter Kenis on Piccadily.
James also topped the 39-horse 2* 1.35m speed on the 10-year-old Dominican 2000 Z (Dominator 20000 Z x Casir Ask), edging ahead by 0.27 seconds.
Fellow Scot Sandy McLean also registered a win, heading the 2* 1.40m on SES Jumeirah as 20 of the original 46 starters returned for the jump-off. Sandy scythed through the turns on the Diamant De Semilly x Douglas eight-year-old to win by 0.36 seconds.
Meanwhile, Sophie Evans was a winning contender in Madrid on the Longines Global Champions Tour, topping a 1* 1.40m with CSIO Bel. Thirteen from 40 competitors returned for the jump-off but Sophie was on form with the Tinka’s Boy 13-year-old, galloping to victory by 0.22 seconds.
Image:Prime Photography
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