THE Irish Pony Club Festival, which was held at Barnadown last Thursday, Friday and Saturday, received great praise from competitors and their parents.

This was much appreciated by the large team of volunteers, those who work in the Urlingford office, chairman Barbara Micks and section heads Kate Harvey (dressage and combined training), Syl Ryan (show jumping) and Pat Tomkpins (mounted games).

There was a big increase in the number of members and Branches taking part in mounted games, throughout the year and at the Festival. This could have something to do with the introduction, on request, of lead rein games for Under 10s, something appreciated more by the very fit parents than those who just might have to get acquainted with a fitness training regime over the winter months.

The Festival winners at Under 10 level were Tipperary (lead rein), Shillelagh (A Final) and Kildare (B Fina); in the Junior division the winners were Island Stars (A Final) and Meath (B Final) with Wexford holding off Shillelagh to claim the honours in the Senior B mounted games.

The Meath Branch was represented by three quartets in the Champion Hats pure dressage team championship but had to settle for third as Carlow won the Bill Fisk Memorial Shield and Killinick finished second. The winning team, who are next heading to the British Pony Club championships at Cholmondeley Castle, comprised Holly Malone (Letterdyfe Locke), Ellen Kelly (Corabbey Lily Anne), Rachel Carr (Calelvador May Blossom) and Jack Carr (Bornio).

Rachel Carr was the recipient of the Ronan Cup as individual winner and was also presented with the Cossack cup as Calelvador May Blossom, a 12-year-old palomino mare, is a pony (see photo page A78).

NEW CHALLENGE

It will be interesting to see how many IPC members take part in the new Horse Sport Ireland combined training challenge which starts tomorrow at Killossery Lodge Stud. Certainly, last Friday’s Champion Hats championships finals in this discipline were very competitive and it’s certain that these young riders will be keen to take on their elders throughout the country in the HSI series.

Friday’s older Festival winners were Tipperary’s Lucy Austin riding the 14-year-old bay gelding Belline Rover (Novice), Kildare’s Alex Connors with the 13-year-old Templebready Fear Bui gelding Millridge Buachaill Bui who has served the rider’s family so well over the years (Junior), East Galway’s Katie Naughton and her eight-year-old Caricello gelding Cruising Caricello (Intermediate) and Louth’s Emily McCourt with the well-known nine-year-old Tulira Robuck gelding Rathbane Legend (Open).

The Under 10 and Under 12 combined training classes took place on Thursday and, to no great surprise, Section A of the Under 10 class was won by the Killinicks’ Oscar O’Connor riding Doylan Chilli Pepper with Carlow’s Ellie Kavanagh topping the scores in Section B with Inspector Bob. The good season of the Islands’ Ava Dowley and Magical Milly continued in Section A of the Under 12s’ class with the Shillelaghs’ Jasper Kelly, another having a successful season, taking first in Section B on Knockbridge Just Jimmy.