THE final qualifying round of the O’Brien’s Saddlery Midweek Summer Special league was staged by the South Munster Region of Dressage Ireland last Thursday week at Ballindenisk.

Vida Tansey (List 1), Marie Hennessy (List 2) and Elena Satalkina (List 5) had a large number of classes to judge between them, some of which were open to all, while 10 were confined to those chasing league points.

Hennessy judged three of the qualifying classes, starting with the 10-runner Novice DI21, where her overall leaderboard was topped by Sophia Mackey and her Scottish Warmblood gelding Wagner V.U. (71.21%), a 21-year-old bay son of Ludwig.

There were eight starters in the Medium DI77 won by Lucy Cusack and her Dutch Warmblood gelding Kirktown (67.86%), her nine-year-old by Uptown, while Hennessy awarded her highest score in the Advanced Medium qualifier, the DI90, to Jessica Grogan riding Laura Hagger’s KWPN-registered gelding Christianson (69.12), an 18-year-old chesnut son of Briar.

Jessica Grogan and Christianson, pictured at Clonshire, won the Advanced Medium qualifier at Ballindenisk \ Justin Black Millstreet Horse Photography

Four of the five entries in the Elementary qualifier (DI52) appeared before Vida Tansey, whose winner was Caroline Marwood on another Dutch Warmblood gelding, Hannah Rose’s Investigator P (70.14%), an 11-year-old chesnut by Diamant de Semilly. Sue Smallman recorded an uncontested victory in the FEI Intermediate 1 qualifier, where Tansey awarded her a score of 69.71 for her test on the 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Gloriant H, a chesnut son of Uphill.

Satalkina judged half of the qualifiers, facing her largest field of 10 in the Preliminary DI6, where she awarded her highest score to Cecilia Foster riding the Connemara gelding Abbeyside Rory (72.31%), an eight-year-old grey by Carracanada River out of the Castleside JJ mare Pippy.

Riding her mother Jayne’s Brandon Zimbabwe, Amy Hearne won two qualifying Trailblazer classes, seeing off one opponent to win the Under 12s’ class on 73.04%, before recording an uncontested victory in the Junior qualifier (74.47). Bred in Co Kilkenny by Roisin Fitzgerald, Brandon Zimbabwe is a 13-year-old chesnut gelding by Gigman Orinoco out of the Woodvale King’s Royal mare Zulu Dawn.

The sole starter in the Trailblazers Intro qualifier was Pat Magner with the Irish Sport Horse gelding Summerbridge Royal (66.09%), an 11-year-old by Cavalier Royale and, in the Mini qualifier, it was Stephanie Fleming with Orla Whelton’s Waitwith Finola (74.78). In the preceding non-qualifying Mini class, which was also judged by Satalkina, Fleming and the 13-year-old Welsh Section A mare by Tamevalley Sahara scored 71.96.

Others winners to record scores of 70% or more on the day were, at Preliminary level, Katie McKeon riding Elden Cavalier Roulette (71.32% in the BD1) and Elizabeth Frayling on Aliym (70.42 in the BD19), also young Evie Kennedy with the Connemara gelding Blackwoodland Breeze (70.77 in the Novice BD39).