HORSE Sport Ireland’s support of the young horse classes at last weekend’s Slieve Bloom Stud national dressage championships at Barnadown was very much appreciated by owners and riders.

One of these was the South East Region’s Rachel Dowley who claimed the four-year-old title riding her Dutch Warmblood mare GFL Nava, a daughter of For Romance out of the Florencio mare Daimy. The combination also won the Tailored Equestrian Category 3 Preliminary championship.

“I purchased Nava in Holland last October,” revealed Dowley, the Carrick-On-Suir-based international rider and HSI Level 2 coach. “She had only recently been backed and trying her involved a trot around on the lunge. This was only her fourth outing so I was impressed by her confidence in the arena and how she coped with the environment. The immediate plan is a quiet period of winter of training before giving her more experience and exposure next year.”

There were 10 starters in that four-year-old class and six in the five-year-old championship where the honours went to Denise Kelly Rice and the eye-catching Forvanna who had 10 points in hand over their nearest rivals.

Owned by the USA’s Pamela Combs Wilson, this Westfalian mare, who is by Formidable, started the championships on a good note on Friday when winning the first of the Category 2 Novice classes.

Just five combinations, all from the Leinster Region, started in the six-year-old championship where the winners by a nine-point margin were Aine Ryan and her Dutch Warmblood gelding Leejoy, a bay son of Fürsten-Look out of U-Two (by Goodtimes) who was also placed at Advanced Medium level over the weekend.

It wasn’t all about horses and riding at the championships as there was a social element to the fixture as well with a wine reception (generously sponsored by Kevin and Marguerite Kavanagh) being held on the Friday evening while, through their M&S Simply Dressage, Mark Ruddock and Sean Burgess sponsored the ‘Country versus Disco’ karaoke competition which followed the barbeque on Saturday evening.

Every competitor at the championship received a 2022 plaque sponsored by Freedom Saddlery.