LAST Sunday, Joan Ahern (List 1) travelled up country to share the judging duties with Jean Halpenny (List 4) at Annaharvey Farm, where they had a relatively relaxing time, with a small entry being further eroded by withdrawals.

Both had five combinations to judge at Preliminary level, Ahern’s winner of the DI18 in the long arena being Amy Kinane on board the currently unregistered Ilfons (65.63%), a Dutch Warmblood gelding by Dallas VDL out of the Jus de Pomme mare Nellandra.

The 11-year-old bay is a half-brother to the 1.60m performers Baltic VDL and Don Vito and started his career in this country over coloured poles himself, when imported in 2017. That season, he won the four-year-old final at the three-day summer horse championships in Cavan under Tina Stephenson. In recent seasons, he was campaigned by an amateur up to 1.20m level.

“I have him for about a year,” revealed Kinane. “We competed at Preliminary level last year and are now back at it with a step up to Novice as well. We had bit of a hiatus in the spring due to my own schedule. He is very tall; our measuring stick ran out, so he is about 17.3 to 18 hands. However, he’s a gentle giant.”

Halpenny’s overall winner of the P15 in the short arena was Emily Guinan on another unregistered entry, Eoghan Ruas Cailín (68.39%), a Connemara mare who is well-known in the show jumping world. The palomino nine-year-old, who was bred by Eugene Egan out of the Corrib Prince mare Glenoran Peggy, has 249 SJI points to her credit.

Five combinations also appeared before Halpenny in the Trailblazers’ Under 12 class, where she awarded her highest score (68.57%) to Emily Kellaghan on board Jeanette Donath’s Woodfield Misty. This eight-year-old liver chesnut mare was evented under Irish Pony Club rules this season by Offaly Branch member, Leah Murphy.

As mentioned above, Amy Kinane also competed Ilfons at Novice level but, in the Halpenny-judged, three-runner DI21, they had to settle for second (62.93%) behind Aimee Conroy and the 13-year-old Templebready Fear Bui gelding, Templebready Wise Guy (64.48).

There were uncontested doubles for Charlotte Clear and her Irish Sport Horse gelding Ramesses B, for the home-based Maeve Deverell on Louise Doheny’s Belgian Warmblood mare Qarma Van Blommerschat and for the same rider on her mother Aisling’s ISH gelding Annaharvey Dunowen.