THE Newcastle Lyons Branch fared best at the Irish Pony Club’s national dressage day held at CoilÓg on Friday, April 5th during the Easter holidays.

The Branch was represented by four competition winners, with sisters Lucy and Abbey Ferris topping the scores in a division of the Junior section and the Intermediate class on Queen Cassie and How Ya Sammy respectively. Abbey and How Ya Sammy were on the Dressage Ireland squad, who competed at the Youth Home Nations’ international in Wales in early August.

So too did Duhallow’s Amber Lane and Barkway State Affair who, at CoilÓg, finished second in division one of the Under 12s’ competition to Newcastle Lyons’s Isabelle Smith riding What’s It All About. The highest score in division two was recorded by Limerick’s Lucy Ryan with Kilmaine Bay. Riding Goldengrove Morsecode, Finn Breen struck for Newcastle Lyons in division one of the Junior class.

Carbery’s Clara Nyhan claimed the sole Under 10s’ class on Molly Dot Com, Bray’s Alex Potter topped the scores in the Open/Senior Associates class with Bluelake Richard (another DI combination who competed in Wales), while Tipperary’s Kate Walsh, Eventing Ireland’s Youth Ambassador for 2024, won the Windsor Pony Club test class on Lisheen Fork Lightning, who she events at EI110 (J) level.

In the dressage section of the IPC Festival at Barnadown in late July, the 16-strong team competition was won by the Shillelagh trio of Ned Kelly (Fiona’s Fionn), Jane Fitzgerald (Ballymurphy Hughie) and Lucy Keane (Ballycreen Kings Mistress), who then represented the IPC at the British Pony Club championships. In the 62-runner Open individual competition, the honours went to the above-mentioned Walsh who, here, was on board Beechtree Watchful, her successful mount in the Pony Club members’ combined training at the RDS and the IPC open eventing championship.