Ireland’s Billy Twomey and Tinka's Serenade netted a fourth place finish in Thursday’s speed class at the five-star show in Rome.
In a hotly contested event, only 11 hundredths of a second separated the first three places, with Twomey just over a third of a second further back. The event was won by Spain's Sergio Alvarez Moya on G and C Quitador Rochelais.
The Cork-born rider's effort meant that Ireland had achieved two top-four finishes on the opening day at the prestigious show, which features many of the world's highest ranked riders, following Alex's Duffy's runner-up finish in the opening class on Thursday morning on board Wrangler 11.
Earlier, Alex Duffy got the Irish challenge off to a positive start by taking second place in the 1.45m opening class.
Riding Wrangler 11, Duffy notched up a very fast second clear round, but was edged out of first place by American Kent Farrington on board Cha Cha Cha 7 by less than two-tenths of a second.
Duffy and Twomey are Ireland's representatives at the Rome event.
Ireland, however, is not competing in the team event, as Rome is not one of Ireland's designated points-scoring venues in the series.
