LISTENING to the radio as she drove home to Mount Callan in Co Clare last Saturday, Niamh Tottenham was disappointed to hear Ireland being beaten in the Six Nations rugby, but at least her day had gone to plan, with a win at the Milchem Equestrian Centre.

The Tynagh venue hosted the third qualifying round in the Eventing Ireland Western Region’s Berts Properties starter series on a bitterly cold but mainly dry day. Host, and regional chairman, Ralph Conroy, had done a lot of work with the course, which featured new fences, both show jumping (1 to 8) cross-country (9 to 18), and flowers.

Some riders were a bit apprehensive walking the course, but the track flowed really well and several people commented on how great an education it was for their horses. The Ardeo Sport Horses team of Neil and Melanie Wrynn, who were new to the series, really enjoyed their day as judges. They commented to the organisers that there were some very nice horses competing, who they would love to have in their Co Wicklow yard.

As ever, there was a very good atmosphere throughout the day, with officials, volunteers, riders and owners very appreciative of the warming soup on offer.

Tottenham’s win came in the 14-runner Drumhowan Stud and Coolballyshan Stud six and seven-year-old qualifier, where she completed on her winning dressage score with her home-bred Irish Sport Horse gelding Slieve Callan Solice (62 points).

Godfrey Gibbons likewise finished on his first phase score to place second with Liam Lynskey’s DS Conn Boy (60.5). The home-based Duncan McFadyen was lying third early on with Drombane General (55.5), but 12 jumping penalties dropped that combination down the leaderboard to be replaced by Gibbons with his mother Marie Dunne’s Kilnamac Kasu (51), who recorded a clear jumping round.

Winner of the region’s senior rider award for 2023, Tottenham shares the dream of many with six-year-old event horses of bagging one of three coveted places for the CCI2*-L at Le Lion d’Angers in October.

Winner of the Treo Eile class at the EI western region starter series at Milchem Equestrian Centre was Black Field ridden by Evita Agerled Thomsen \ Aisling Deverell Photography

“I would love to get him there, but either way, I want to go to an international event with him this year,” said the owner/rider/breeder of her Tyson grey, who has 41 Showjumping Ireland points to his credit and competed in the young event horse class at the Dublin Horse Show for the past two years. Under EI rules, he ran eight times last season, finishing seventh of 25 in the Horse Sport Ireland studbook series EI100 for five-year-olds at Kilguilkey House in early September. He concluded his campaign when, with cross-country time penalties, he placed 11th of 25 in the Michael Leonard CCI1*-Intro for five and six-year-olds at Ballindenisk later that month.

Slieve Callan Solice is the fourth of six foals recorded on CapallOir out of the Courage II mare GI Miz Minx, who jumped to Grade C level. Her first, the 2013 Porsch gelding Slieve Callan Alpha has competed at CCI3*-L level in the USA, while her third, another grey Tyson gelding, the now seven-year-old Slieve Callan Gael, was sold to Alabama following his win under Tottenham in the 24-runner CCI2*-L at that same Ballindenisk international.

The day’s best turned-out award, sponsored by Sea Warrior Sea Supplements, was presented to Abigail Kenny, who competed in this class on the Connemara gelding Hogan The Brave, a six-year-old grey by Silver Shadow.

The Eve Smith-run Sea Warrior Sea Supplements harvests the seaweed for its products off the north west coast of Donegal. Eve competed hors concours in the dressage phase only of this series at Tubberbride, as she is recovering from a spinal operation. She is Eventing Ireland’s national training committee representative for amateurs.