THERE was an excellent entry at Lisgarvan for last Sunday’s first standalone leg of the 2024 DAFM eventing development series and for the try eventing and two-phase competitions, which were run in conjunction with the young horse classes.

There were three withdrawals from the four-year-old section, leaving 13 combinations to come before Dressage Ireland List 4 judge, Susan Patterson. Her winner on 29 penalties was the Irish Sport Horse mare Tullabeg Dream, who was making her competitive debut under the youngest rider in the class, Alison Dunne.

Riding for Paul Donovan, Sara Lundkvist was lying second at this stage on Sportsfield Olympic Bay (32) and, following two clear jumping rounds, the Swedish rider was left in front, when Dunne and Tullabeg Dream lowered two of the coloured poles.

“This is a lovely horse that I bought privately last year from Murty O’Meara in Toomevara,” said Donovan of the winner, who was bred in Co Laois by Eamon Kenny out of the Russel mare Levally’s Girl. “He’s by Olympic Lux, who’s a stallion I really like, as he sires horses with ability and good temperament.”

Qualified

“He was a bit green on his debut in the young event horse series during the summer, but qualified for Dublin at Scarteen,” Donovan continued.

“He’s a straightforward, easy horse, but very blood and will make a very good five-year-old.

"I think he is one for the future.

“It was great for the four-year-olds to show jump in the international arena here and the cross-country phase included a good mix of fences, with a coffin and a water fence,” continued Donovan. “It was great too for Sara to get this win. She was mainly involved in show jumping at home and did very little eventing until coming to Co Tipperary. She would have won the six-year-old class too with the dun mare (Sportsfield More Fusion), but had two fences down.”

Disappointed to have dropped to second, 15-year-old Dunne still finished in front of her uncle, Commdt Terence White, who was on board the third-placed Lliw Dun Cal, who had a fence down show jumping for a total of 39.3.

It looks like Dunne won’t have the opportunity to compete in any other leg of the series on the Nick Cousins-bred Tullabeg Dream, who White purchased at the July sales in Monart on behalf of clients in the US, and the Hiello bay is due to be flown to Texas at the end of the month. Dunne warmed up for this DAFM challenge by playing camogie on Saturday when, after extra time, she and her Ferns teammates were beaten in the Wexford Under 16s’ semi-final.

Cooley Farms’ stable jockey, Amanda Goldsbury, had two rides in the 35-runner five-year-old class and finished first and second on the pair, both of whom completed on their dressage scores.

The winner was the ISH gelding Castlefield Cooley (25.8 penalties), a bay by Jan Van Holland, who was bred by the Wafer Brothers out of their well-known Ghareeb mare Miss Conci. The runner-up Touch Of Cooley (27.3) is a Zangersheide gelding by Untouchable 27.

Misfortune

John Tilley was the rider who benefitted most from Lundkvist’s misfortune in the show jumping phase of the six-year-old class, as he moved into the top spot with Sharon Power’s experienced ISH mare Carrigshawn Zara, who he had competed in the EI100 national championship at Kilguilkey House the previous weekend.

The bay daughter of Mermus R, who completed on her Jill Spring-awarded dressage score (29.3 penalties), was bred in Co Wexford by Jack Warner out of the Dondoctro Ryal K mare Carrigshawn Doctro who, to date, has 63 Showjumping Ireland points to her credit. Here, Sarah Ennis finished second on the Dutch Warmblood gelding, Nycarlos H (31.8).

This was the final fixture of 2024 at Lisgarvan, where Clive Corrigan was keen to thank all those who volunteered throughout the year. “We couldn’t manage without them,” he stressed.