Howley hits the heights in Rome with five-star triumph
Enniscrone's Richard Howley and Mansini Ltd., making their way safely round the course to win the Lugano Diamonds Trophy in Rome.
Showjumping: Richard Howley and Mansini Ltd have proven a combination to be feared in speed classes since discovering the winning thread last year and they registered an eighth victory of 2024 in the five-star Lugano Diamonds Trophy at the Longines Global Champions Tour in Rome last Sunday.
This success is a 14th since the beginning of 2023 for the duo. The stellar run of form kicked off at elite level in Bordeaux 19 months ago and the triumph at the Piazza di Siena is a fifth five-star win for the combination.
Enniscrone native Howley and the 15-year-old HK Horses-owned bay gelding were nimble, quick and accurate, completely in sync as every tight line was taken, while putting on the after-burners when the opportunity presented itself.
The pair stopped the clock on 50.73 seconds, which was enough to take the first prize.
Howley, whose Rome Gladiators team finished third in their home leg of the Global Champions League also on Sunday, did have some anxious moments though with some fast pairings following on.
And the margins could not have been tighter, as Victor Bettendorf (LUX) and Cancun Torel Z produced an almost mirror effort of their Irish counterparts. When Bettendorf glanced up at the clock after passing the line following another clear round, it revealed a time that was four-hundredths of a second off the target set by Howley and Mansini Ltd.
That saw them claim the middle spot in the podium, with France’s Edward Levy and Lyon van de Plataan in third.
