CASEY Webb had a busy time at Tullymurry last Saturday as she competed three horses during the day while exercising three more on site who she also turned out for Steven Smith the following morning at Ballindenisk.
Webb headed off on the journey south on Saturday evening in good form following a win on The Cherokee Flight in the 27-runner EI00 class where she completed on her dressage score (30.3). Ella Boyle finished second with WKD Cooley who led after the first phase (26) but had a pole down before picking up 2.4 cross-country time penalties.
As his name would suggest, the five-year-old is a coloured gelding who owner, Susan O’Shea, purchased in May.
“We bought ‘Simba’ for our daughter Sarah (15) who has just started eventing on her pony (CHE Esmerelda) and really likes the sport,” revealed O’Shea. “Casey is producing the horse for us with the Smith brothers and we plan to have him established at EI100 level before Sarah takes over the ride. We were delighted with his win as it was a good class and it was just his third start.
“Casey works hard every day with Simba, keeps us up-to-date with everything and also helps Sarah a lot. I would also like to thank Steven and Trevor and all the Smith Brothers Eventing team for their help and hard work and the team at Tullymurry for provided such good ground over the past two weeks.”
Webb’s year in an office job comes to an end shortly so she will be back riding full-time until returning to her degree in actuary.
MORROW WIN
Hannah Morrow and her mother Jane’s My Good Thyne Girl, an eight-year-old bay mare by the Irish Sport Horse stallion Yeats, recorded their second win of the season when landing the EI100J on their dressage score (27.5). Hollie Smith had an expensive pole down with Ringfort Rubicon who led after dressage on a penalty score of 26.
All four runners in the EI100P were pure-bred Connemaras with the stallion Lough Fadda Rudi, wrapping up a very successful week when completing on his dressage score (32.5) as did the second-placed Sheebas Boy (32.8) under Katie Attley.
The winner, a seven-year-old by Coosheen Stormboy was ridden by Keelan Murray who was also on board when the grey won the Connemara class for riders under 16 at the final of the Sports Pony Challenge in Barnadown. Murray (15) is in his first season of competitive riding. While he had to join the Irish Pony Society to compete in the final of the SPC, Murray prefers eventing and is riding tomorrow at Grove in the Irish Pony Club/Connolly’s Red Mills eventing qualifier.
He will again partner Lough Fadda Rudi who was bred in Galway by Padraic and Nicola Heanue out of the Grange Bobbing Sparrow mare Grange Ruby Surf.
The stallion is one of four standing at the Whitethorn Stud in Co Roscommon with the rider’s father Keith who commented: “This fellow was away from home to be trained for the four-year-old green hunter at Clifden and was then competed by Shannon Nelson and Jennifer Kuehnle so has only about 20 foals on the ground.”
There was no repeat success in the EI90 for David O’Connor and House Elf who, on their dressage score (28), had to settle for second behind Joanne Jarden and the eight-year-old Rockrimmon Senator mare Quarryhill Calypso who, on her second start, added 1.2 cross-country time penalties to her winning flat mark (24.3).
Also completing on her first phase score to finish third was Suzanne Hagan with John Kehoe’s six-year-old mare Killeshin Fifty Shades of Grey (29.3). Anna Corinne White led from start to finish as she landed the three-runner EI909P class on Jimmy Thunderstruck (30.5).