SERENDIPITY ruled at the Cheval Showgrounds last Sunday, when the North Eastern Region of the Association of Irish Riding Clubs hosted the first RDS team show jumping championship qualifier at the venue since its major refurbishment, and the resident club’s Red team claimed the golden ticket.

Ten teams representing eight of the Region’s 21 clubs entered Sunday’s competition, with Cheval fielding two squads – as did Castle Hill. Among the absentees was Killossery who, having won the NER qualifier last year, went on to finish fifth in the Horseware Ireland-sponsored final at Dublin in August.

Over a track built by senior national course designer Louise Moore and with Cheval chairperson Maria Carrick in the judge’s box alongside Colm Colgan, Sunday’s morning session ended with Cheval Red on one fault, followed by Boyneside in second with four faults and Ashbrook on five. Clear rounds were at a premium in the afternoon and, at the end of the second round, Ashbrook and Cheval Red were tied on 13 faults apiece.

The two captains, Jenny Doran and Laura Carrick, then warmed-up for the jump-off. Ashbrook’s hopes of automatic qualification were more or less dashed when Doran and her home-bred Captain Clover gelding Horseplay Clover Star parted company about two strides after fence four. Carrick, however, had to jump and complete to ensure Cheval Red came out on top and she duly delivered a clear round on her seven-year-old Namelus R gelding Amura R who, too, is home-bred.

Captain Laura Carrick (Amura R) goes clear in the jump-off to lead the Cheval Red quartet to victory in Sunday's AIRC North Eastern Region team show jumping qualifier at Jordanstown

The other members of the victorious Cheval Red squad were Megan Gannon, who set the ball rolling with her six-year-old traditionally bred Yeats gelding Cruise On Percy, Leah McCormack who jumped a double clear on her 11-year-old Uncle Paul gelding A Little Golden and Edwin Fitzgerald who went clear in the first round on board his eight-year-old Samgemjee mare Moygannon April Diamond. The chef d’equipe was Ita Kinahan.

Heading to the Wildcard qualifier at the AIRC Festival (June 8th and 9th) along with Doran, who was fine following her involuntary dismount, are Jayne Kidd (Good News Scotty), Anne O’Dowd (Until Proven Guilty) and John Gavin (Holywell Contender). For the record, Boyneside finished third (16 faults), Castle Hill Navy were fourth (16), Border Counties were fifth (17) and Mullaghmore, who fielded just three riders, were sixth (20).

Upgrades

Cheval members, led by their dedicated committee, had the showgrounds looking their best for Sunday. The focus of attention was, of course, the 65m x 45m sand/fibre arena, for which the club received €118,000 in a Sports Capital Grant from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media while raising in excess of €25,000 through show activity and advertising income from local businesses.

The arena is surrounded by sloping grass banks – a perfect vantage point for team supporters to congregate – while the car-parking area, with its improved surface, has been extended to cater for the increasing numbers at shows hosted by Cheval, and others, at the venue. The hours spent strimming, painting, weeding, planting and generally tidying up the grounds by members, extended family and friends were immediately obvious as competitors drove in on Sunday.

As the surface continues to bed in, it requires a lot of work, especially due to the dry days leading up to the qualifier, and thanks went out to members Gary Quinn and Benny Duffy for supplying a tractor and tanker for watering the arena. Duffy was watering the surface up to 10.30pm on Saturday night followed by Ita Kinahan on the roller. To ensure fairness for all, the surface was rolled after every 10th rider on Sunday by John Maguire.

The fences, some of which had to be collected during the week from Pauric O’Neill, looked really well in the sunshine. Cheval has now set out to refurbish some older poles, which haven’t been used in quite a while, doing so thanks to financial support from the Kingspan Kickstart Sports Fund.

Inter-club action in the North Eastern Region continues tomorrow when the Ard Lú club holds its May Show at Piperstown, where it will be hosting the NER’s RC70 and RC80 jumping championship qualifier. Seven days later, members of Kilronan Riding Club will be welcoming all to their home base, Kilronan Equestrian Centre, for their annual Summer Show.