THREE individual two-phase classes were held at Emerald Equestrian on Thursday afternoon, two for thoroughbred horses and one for ponies.

There were 23 starters in the opening 80cms Weatherbys Ireland GSB Ltd Discovery where riders under 18 filled four of the top six places. This quartet included Tekka Whelan whose second clear in the timed section in 26.78 seconds saw her take the win on Fortunate Max, a brown gelding by Maxios, who ran once as a two-year-old for Tony Mullins.

Representing the Bray Branch, Whelan has enjoyed a great couple of years on Fortunate Max, highlighted by claiming the Treo Eile-sponsored prize for the highest-placed thoroughbred at the Connolly’s Red Mills/Irish Pony Club eventing championships at Tattersalls Ireland in 2023. The combination has recorded wins in working hunter competitions.

Double clears were also posted by Aisling Donoghue on the 18-year-old Oscar gelding Silent Picture (28.94), who has 106 Showjumping Ireland points to his credit, by Ellie Treanor, another rider under 18, on the eight-year-old Sholokhov mare Aughnamallagh Lady (32.81) and by Marie Halstead on Not So Bad Lad (38.01), an eight-year-old gelded son of Dylan Thomas.

Proud

Resplendent in her Christmas livery, former international event rider and racehorse trainer Dot Love was a very proud woman following the Connolly’s Red Mills Starfinder class as she had a connection with the first four in the 90cms two-phase competition which attracted 18 starters, three of whom were sadly eliminated.

The Sophie Walshe-partnered winner, Kinsau, ran once out of Love’s Mullingar yard for Ciaran Murphy, the 2009 Indian Danehill bay pulling up in a five-year-old geldings’ maiden at Tinahely in early January 2014. However, he has really blossomed in his second career as an event horse and rounded off his 2024 Eventing Ireland campaign by winning the EI115 (Open) national championship at Kilguilkey House in September.

Sophie’s mother Charlotte worked with Love when she moved over to Ireland from Denmark and a Dane filling the role these days is Evita Thomsen who finished second and third here on Love’s 19-year-old Presenting gelding Michael’s Pick (30.80) and six-year-old Califet gelding Black Field (31.92). Emily Murphy, who is married to the above mentioned Ciaran Murphy, slotted into fourth on ‘Sheila’, a four-year-old unnamed mare by Harzand.

In the evening’s team competition, Walshe and Kinsau were members of the Race & Stay quartet who, on a zero score, were lying fourth after the first round only for things to go badly awry in the second. So too were Josh Fitzgerald and Inchala du Routoutous who, similarly, had been compensated in advance when winning the equuip Pony Christmas Cracker.

This was a clear victory in the 20-strong class with Fitzgerald and the six-year-old French-bred skewbald gelding by Quabar des Monceaux, who competed at Dublin in August, stopping the clock in the timed section of the course on 23.84. Sophie Morrin finished second on Cappog Lui Surprise (26.03), a five-year-old piebald gelding by Luidam, with Finn Breen placing third on the Connemara mare Glencroft Blarney Stone (26.52), a seven-year-old dun by Rocklawn Elvis.