THE mother and daughter duo of Marie and Meabh Hennessy were on judging duty at last Sunday’s Dressage Ireland South Munster Region show at Greybrook West Equestrian.
Marie (List 2), who had the earlier start, twice had young Amber Lane at the top of her leaderboard. A multiple prize-winner at the recent Irish Pony Society awards’ night, Lane saw off five rivals to win the Preliminary DI8 (69.23%) and four to claim the Novice DI24A (65.33) with Sharon Lynch’s Dutch Warmblood gelding Harley (69.23), a 19-year-old bay son of FS Harry Potter.
There were four starters in the day’s sole Elementary class, where Ana Hughes fared best on board her 12-year-old bay gelding Ballycahane Billy (68.19%). Lene Rose Aksoy finished second (66.11) here with her Irish Sport Horse gelding Fernhill Nearly Darc, the 19-year-old Shannondale Sarco St Ghyvan bay, on whom she had been the only starter in the opening Medium DI67, where she scored 62.12.
Bethany Mackey also recorded an uncontested victory in the only Advanced class on her Dutch Warmblood mare Kalahari (60.94%), a 10-year-old Ferguson bay, while Katie McKeon claimed the match for honours in the Novice DI26 in the short arena riding the eight-year-old West Coast Cavalier mare, Elden Cavalier Roulette (68.28).
When Meabh Hennessy (List 6) took over as judge, she faced her biggest field of 10 starters in the Preliminary DI6 in the short arena. Here, her overall leaderboard was topped on 66.92% by both Sinead O’Regan with Alana’s Rambler and Tara Houlihan on the 20-year-old chesnut gelding Wiktor 3, who had the higher collective score (48.5 to 46).
The following nine-runner Introductory Test B class was won by Anna Dangerfield with the five-year-old Reach For The Stars mare, Knockananna Liberty (72.94%), while Hennessy’s winners of the three Trailblazer classes were Lily McLaughlin on Dinky Daisey (Mini), Maria Fleming Hand with Bishopshall Joe (Under 12) and Lararose O’Regan riding My Barbie (Junior).