NICHOLA Wray, a full-time Primary 1 teacher who fits her horses in around her work, recorded her first Eventing Ireland success when landing the 10-runner EI90 Amateur class at Loughanmore on Saturday, September 5th with Lady Grey VI.

“Fizz was four when I bought her in Co Mayo in 2014,” said the Crumlin, Co Antrim-based mother of three. “I bought her to have a bit of fun on and get back to riding as, two years earlier, I had fallen off a ladder and badly broken my foot and dislocated my ankle.

“She has no recorded breeding but I suspect is part Connemara due to her spookiness – especially hacking. She is quirky but has an amazing jump on a good day and is very much a mare on a mission! She has taken me from my first event at Ballyvannon (in August 2016), where we were so slow another amateur shouted at me to move out of the way, to EI100 level over the past two seasons.”

As they were eliminated in the EI100 amateur championship at Kilguilkey House last September, Wray dropped back a level with Lady Grey VI at the start of this season but hopes to upgrade again next term. “If I’m feeling brave enough, and we are going well enough, maybe we’ll have a 105 or 110 run as well.”

Wray will be double-handed in 2021 as she also plans to compete with Springhill Showman, the gelding on whom she finished fifth in the four-year-old class at the recent Horse Sport Ireland Arena Eventing fixture at The Meadows. This bay has no recorded breeding either but is said to be by the Irish Draught stallion Lislap Benedict out of a thoroughbred mare who raced.

“He has the heart of a lion and the temperament of a lamb and will take on anything asked of him,” said Wray of the bay. “My plans for Dylan next year are a few 90s and then move up to 100s and see how we get on. He’s a genuine horse so I want to give him time to develop his confidence and maybe take me some day to two-star level!

“I never have a big budget for buying made horses so have to make what I buy into something or just accept what they can do. Holiday Chase was also one of those who, with work and time, turned into a medal-winner at pony Europeans starting out with (daughter) Holly in Italy where they just missed out on making the team cut at the time.

“Eventing is such a great sport – it can give you great highs, but also bring you back down with a bang! The people involved are like an extended family – they are friendly and will extend help if needed on the day. Katie, my other daughter, also events most Saturdays so the competition can be interesting!”

At Knockany, where they, like five more of the 10 starters, completed on their dressage scores, Wray and Lady Grey VI (27) had to settle for third behind Nicola Martin on Mr Pitt (26), who was having just his third EI start, and Aislinn Franklin riding her 17-year-old gelding, Really Russell (26.5). Martin, who works in her father’s Tim Martin Estate Agents, had previously filled the runner-berth at Vesey Lodge on the six-year-old three-parts Irish Draught gelding.

Bespoke win

Other winners at EI90 level in the second half of the season included Joan O’Connor. Riding her nine-year-old Harlequin du Carel gelding Captain Kerev at Frankfort Stud (2) on August 30th, the Co Wicklow chartered architect and arbitrator was left to complete on her own following the elimination of her sole rival, Zara Glennon Cully.

The latter, who jumped an incorrect cross-country fence that day, returned to the Co Wexford venue five weeks later when she comfortably put matters to right, winning by a margin of roughly 15 penalty points on her six-year-old Oldtown KC mare, Fairsing Bridget.

Between times, England-born Melanie Purcell didn’t have far to travel from her home in Emly, Co Tipperary to Grove where, on Saturday, September 19th, she recorded her first EI victory in the seven-runner class when completing on her winning dressage score with FHS Young Jedi, a five-year-old Carlo Bank gelding.

Co Galway-based, Parisian-born Lorraine Balaine, who has just started a two-year position in Teagasc as a postdoctoral researcher, brought up a remarkable double when landing the EI90 Amateur on Saturday, October 3rd at Hillcrest (3) with Avalon In Paris. Balaine and the five-year-old Numero Cruise gelding had only competed once previously under EI rules and that was when winning the same class in 2019!

This combination featured in these pages recently as winners at the Horse Sport Ireland/Dressage Ireland Autumn development series fixture in Abbottstown.