THE Reynolds family sponsored the Trailblazers championships which were judged outdoors on Sunday in Arena 4, although their mounted prize-giving ceremony took place inside.

As with all competitors at last weekend’s three-day Dressage Ireland national championships in the Cavan Equestrian Centre, the Trailblazers came before an international panel of judges.

Britain’s Richard Baldwin and Les Smith awarded their top marks in the opening Junior Preliminary A championship for riders under 12 to Wexford’s Oscar O’Connor who won a on combined score of 73.80% with the 11-year-old British-bred gelding Trefriw Pepsi (by Moelgarnedd Claipso).

Baldwin was joined by New Zealand’s Andrew Bennie to judge the following Senior Preliminary championship for 16 to 21-year-olds which was won quite comfortably (71.92%) by Lauren O’Mahony on the 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Ballingowan Freedom (by Coolcronan Wood) with whom she also won the senior Novice title judged by Finland’s Tiina Karkkolainen and Jacques Van Daele from Belgium.

Alain Francqueville from France and Britain’s Annabel Scrimgeour judged the Junior Preliminary B championship where the scoring was topped on 70.481% by Amy Lambert riding the six-year-old gelding Jerry The Jazz.

O’Connor (with Trefriw Pepsi) and Lambert (here riding another six-year-old, the Connemara grey Ross Star) also competed in the Junior Novice championship which was judged by Karkkolainen and Van Daele. However, on 72.083 and 68.958 respectively, they had to settle for second and third behind Tara O’Brien who scored 73.125% on the ISH gelding Marlfield Fallon, a 16-year-old by the Irish Draught stallion Powerswood Purple.

In total, 42 Trailblazers tests were judged at the Championships on Sunday with this initiative by Dressage Ireland to attract more riders to the discipline at regional and national level certainly paying dividends.