Tipperary's Charlie Swan back in winner's enclosure at Treo Eile Christmas show

Above: from left, Corrine Doran, Commandant Geoff Curran and his daughter Kiki, Olivia and Charlie Swan, the winners of the Horse Racing Ireland Treo Eile Thoroughbred Classic at the Treo Eile Christmas Show at the Emerald Equestrian Centre

Nine-time champion jockey Charlie Swan and his team took top honours at the Horse Racing Ireland Treo Eile Thoroughbred Classic.

The team competition, organised to showcase the very best of Ireland's retrained racehorses, was the highlight of the Treo Eile Christmas show at the Emerald Equestrian Centre in Enfield, Co Kildare.

Ten teams, all captained by jockeys, took part in the two-round team competition.

The ultra-competitive Charlie Swan and his team, sponsored by Camas Park and Summerhill Studs, which included his daughter Olivia, Dublin Horse Show’s puissance winner, Commandant Geoff Curran, and his daughter Kiki Curran, were the only team to post a clean sheet in the first round. That penalty-free round proved a key advantage, as they jumped another clear round in the fastest time in the finale to win the HRI Perpetual Cup.

Three former racehorses, Oscar Encore (Charlie Swan), Briar Hill (Commandant Geoff Curran) and Clonakilty Bay (Olivia Swan) were pivotal in securing the win for the Tipperary jockey and his team mates.

Each team, captained by a professional jockey, was joined by two showjumping or eventing competitors and a pony rider who each rode a variety of former racehorses over a course of jumps, followed by a jump-off to decide the winners of the coveted Horse Racing Ireland Perpetual Cup.