THE Western Region of Eventing Ireland finally got to stage the second leg of its 2024 combined training league last Sunday, having taken the decision to cancel the fixture on its scheduled date of January 21st because of weather warnings.

Thankfully, it remained dry on Sunday at the Milchem Equestrian Centre, home of regional chairman Ralph Conroy. However, it was very windy all day, which proved somewhat challenging – especially for the younger horses. Dressage Ireland List 1 judge Vida Tansey assessed the flat work phase and her scores proved crucial, as Conroy’s flowing show jumping track caused few issues.

On a Bank Holiday weekend attributed to St Bridget, it was only right that female riders dominated the results and they did so by winning all five classes. One of the most clear-cut victories was recorded in Section B of the EI80 division, where Rebecca McGrath completed on her winning dressage score of 27.5 penalties on board Tickerlevan Sun Rise, her winning mount also in round one.

Among the award winners at the previous weekend’s Western Region/East Galway Hunt Ball in Loughrea, Oisin McDonagh finished second on Conroy’s six-year-old mare Milchem Twilight (30.8) with another young rider, McGrath’s cousin Katie Gibbons, placing third on Killadoon Lady (31.3). McDonagh and Gibbons also recorded clear show jumping rounds, as did five others in the 10-runner class.

A daughter of dressage coach Sinead McGrath and her husband, Fintan, who breaks horses for all equestrian disciplines and racing at their Ballyjennings Stables near Ballinrobe, 15-year-old Rebecca took time out on Sunday from studying for her Junior Cert mock exams. Tickerlevan Sun Rise, who is six years older than her rider, has 55 Dressage Ireland points to her credit, the chesnut and McGrath junior having been crowned Junior Novice Category 2 champions at the Dressage Ireland national championships in 2021.

Ideal

“The mare was 17 when we got her and had done a lot of show jumping,” revealed Sinead. “At first, she used to run away with Rebecca in the arena, but once Rebecca got the hang of her, they really clicked. The mare doesn’t look her age, but I think the flat work and dressage help that way. Rebecca is on the pony dressage high-performance squad with Terbofens Queen Two, but wanted to do a bit of jumping, so this combined training league is ideal.

“I’d very much like to thank Sinead Heffernan for bringing Rebecca and the pony to Milchem on Sunday and for working them in. Fintan and I took the weekend off and we spent the two days at the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown,” concluded Sinead, who was also going racing at Fairyhouse on Wednesday.

Should Rebecca be selected for the European pony championships, her teammates will be happy to know that she can provide some musical entertainment on the trip, as she is a very proficient traditional flute player.

Honours

There was a closer result in Section A, where six of the 11 starters left the show jumping arena without incurring further penalties.

Here, the honours went to Tynagh’s Kate Noone on K Autumn Pride (31.8 penalties), a six-year-old mare registered with Leisure Horse Ireland. The Milchem-based Scottish couple Duncan McFadyen and Becky Scott finished second and third on Kiltullagh Lady Rhyanna (32.8), a four-year-old Irish Draught mare by Ceidre Prince, and Attyrory Hiello (33), a five-year-old ISH gelding by Hiello, who actually left Ireland for England on Monday.

“K Autumn Pride was a bit of a field accident, which is why we have no recorded breeding for her,” said Noone, who intends to finish out the combined training series with the mare and then go eventing with her, either under Eventing Ireland rules or with the Association of Irish Riding Clubs, as 19-year-old Noone is a member of her local Tynagh club. The owner/rider, who is in First Year studying Business at the University of Limerick, is well-known in the Western Region as an amateur photographer, specialising in equestrian events, animals, nature and landscapes. She does most of the work with K Autumn Pride on her own but, if she does have a problem with the mare, can turn to her mother, Connie, a List 4 judge with Dressage Ireland, for help.