FOLLOWING the first three legs of the Baileys Horse Feeds flexi eventing series at The Meadows, Zara Reid has seven points in hand over her nearest rivals.

The Drumbo schoolgirl currently sits top of the table on 35 points with her father Gary’s British-bred pony Greylands Diamond Girl, the 2010 mare on whom, in their first season as a partnership, she won two EI80 (Q) classes last season and was placed on her other two starts. The combination rounded off 2023 being crowned Northern Region EI80 champions.

Sharing second place on 28 points apiece are Claire Ireland (Goin For Gold) and Alex Houston (My Atlantic Encore, aka Dinky). Carys Black is lying fourth on 26 points with Glencairns Little Monkey, just 0.5 of a point in front of multiple champion Denis Currie and Arodstown Aramis (25.5). Presently, Reid and Ireland are the leading Pony Club and Riding Club members in the series

On the horse front, the organisers are still waiting for competitors to declare their mount a cob but they have identified Easy Pleased as the leading thoroughbred. Ridden by Felicity McConnell for her mother, Joyce, this once-raced Mahler gelding is lying in equal-11th place on 21 points. In 2022 and 2023, McConville and Easy Pleased won the racehorse to riding horse class at Balmoral Show.

The Baileys Horse Feeds flexi eventing series continues today and every Saturday until February 24th (prize-giving day), with points being awarded for performance and attendance up until the previous Saturday, February 17th.

Hopefully, if they were aiming at it, the riders mentioned above have made their entries for the Eventing Ireland Northern Region two-phase event at Tyrella on Saturday, March 9th, as the ‘house full’ sign went up earlier this week, well ahead of the advertised March 4th closing date. The Region’s event coordinator, Dora Beacom, has opened a wait list, on which late entries will be strictly placed in the order they are received.