DESPITE all the negative publicity surrounding Horse Sport Ireland’s decision not to nominate a team for the Tokyo Olympics, dressage enthusiasts in this country were fully behind Co Kildare’s Heike Holstein who was competing at her fourth Games as an individual.

An image of Holstein and her home-bred Samarant mare Sambuca against a backdrop of Tokyo appeared on the front page of the Irish Horse World on Saturday, July 24th. That day, they competed in the Grand Prix but, on a score of 68.432%, which disappointed the rider, failed to progress any further.

This was the combination’s fourth international competition of the season as they had previously competed twice in The Netherlands – at Exloo (CDI3*) and Rotterdam (CDIO5*) – with a visit between times to Wellington in England (CDI3*).

Kate Dwyer also competed at Exloo and Wellington on Snowdon Faberge whose previous international start had been at Doha in 2020 when they won the Grand Prix Special.

European championships

Unlike 2019, there was no Irish team at September’s European championships at Hagen, Germany where Anna Merveldt and Epsorim finished 46th in the Grand Prix before finishing off their international campaign in the Grand Prix at Aachen (CDI4*) in September.

Having been upgraded from the Development to the High Performance squad with VSH Gouverneur M in February, Comber’s Carolyn Mellor made her international Big Tour debut at Wellington (CDI3*) in May and was back in England two months later for the CDI3* at Hartpury.

It was in August that Mellor learned that she and Gouverneur M, a tall 10-year-old Glock’s Voice gelding, had been selected for the Europeans the following month at Hagen where, on her first championship start, she recorded a Grand Prix score of 64.395%.

There should have been a team at Hagen but, for veterinary reasons, Alex Baker was forced to withdraw Dutchman with whom she had competed at the three-star shows in Wellington and Hartpury.

In late August, Baker competed at the world breeding championship for young dressage horses in Verden, Germany with Newton Tiger, finishing fourth in the second Preliminary test for five-year-olds. A highly regarded black mare by Blue Hors First Choice, Newton Tiger is registered with the Anglo European Studbook. She was bred by Baker’s boss at Elite Dressage, Anna Ross, out of the Sandro Hit mare Smash Hit.

Having started their season at the five-star show in Doha in February, Dane Rawlins and Espoire also competed at Opglabbeek, Belgium (CDI3*), Exloo (CDI3*), Rotterdam (CDIO5*) and Zandhoven, Belgium (CDI3*). In September, Rawlins was crowned National Champion with his 12-year-old Westphalian gelding at Dressage Ireland’s National Championships in Barnadown, while the combination rounded off their international campaign when recording a personal best (67.368%) in the Grand Prix in London (CDI-W).

James Connor campaigned Cassino’ Royal at three shows in Ornago, Italy, a country not visited by Co Kildare-based Sorrell Klatzko as she undertook a mini European tour of her own with the Westphalian gelding Turbo. Klatzko and her Totilas eight-year-old competed at three-star shows in Herzlake, Germany, in Samorin, Slovakia, at Hagen, Germany and, en route back home, in Waregem, Belgium.