THE Northern Region of Dressage Ireland made a good call in holding their winter finals on Sunday as The Meadows was bathed in sunshine for the action and for the visit of Brass Stables UK and Ireland’s Andrena Laverty, who presented the league prizes.

Given that combinations had to qualify to be eligible for prizes on the day, it was understandable that class sizes were generally on the small size, although there were a dozen starters in the Elementary championship (DI51).

This was judged by Coreen Abernethy, whose overall leaderboard was headed by Sharon Getty and her ISH mare Taptoo (72.22%), an 11-year-old daughter of Shannondale Sarco St Ghyvan.

Abernethy also judged the Novice championship class (DI24a) where she awarded her highest score (68.83%) to Martina McKinley riding the 10-year-old thoroughbred gelding Will Scarlet (by Dubai Destination), and the Preliminary championship class (DI18) where the highest score (67.08) was achieved by Maeve Lunny on board her 11-year-old dun gelding Sir Ward.

There were six starters in both of those classes, but only one in the two dedicated Junior championships judged by Abernethy, Sophie Bonner and her mother Donna’s 10-year-old Kannan mare Riverfield Kannafanta, who scored 65.83% in the Preliminary and 63.17 in the Novice.

Sharon Getty and Taptoo, pictured at Necarne, won the Elementary championship at the NR winter finals \ Kyra Griffin

Championship classes

Michael Moore (List 2A) judged four championship classes starting at Medium level (DI67), where his winner was Lisa Dundee with Patricia Connon’s home-bred ISH mare RoundThorn Nice N Easy (68.03%), a Formidable seven-year-old. Lucy Adams won the Advanced Medium class (FEI Junior Preliminary) on her Dutch-bred New Forest gelding Esdals King W.A. (66.5), a 12-year-old bay by Reekamps Elips.

Just one rider appeared before Moore in the FEI Prix St George championship, Dale Roberts, who scored 64.41% on board the 11-year-old Antaeus gelding Rademon Aachen. It was a similar story in the Trailblazers’ Junior Novice championship where Harriet O’Hagan recorded an uncontested victory with her mother Orlaith’s 14-year-old black mare OOS Fairytale (60.86).

Joan Adrain, chairperson of the Northern Region, judged the other two Trailblazers’ championship classes where her winners were Tommy Wakfer, who had a solo run in the Under 12s’ division on his mother Sarah’s 12-year-old British riding pony Carmens Novello (65.54%), a bay gelding by Chiddock Stop Watch, and Abby Rickard, who topped the Junior Preliminary scores on board the unregistered Jolie (65.36).

Adrain also competed on Sunday while another to fill the same two roles was Joanne Jarden (List 1) whose winner of the two-runner FEI Grand Prix championship class was Sarah Mellor riding her home-bred 15-year-old Hotline mare Hotshot (65.33).

The highest score of the day, 70.34%, was awarded by Michael Moore in the non-championship Novice class (DI21) to Roma Oakes riding her Anglo European Studbook-registered gelding Radar, a 15-year-chesnut son of Wolkenderry.