NIAMH Macken appreciated the great help she had in running last Sunday’s Midland and Western Region show in Ballinasloe Showgrounds, where she was awarded for her hard work when recording a Novice double with her Irish Draught gelding Diamond King Henry.

In the DI24A judged by Jane Whitaker (List 2), Macken and her 10-year-old King Alton bay won the five-runner class outright on 68% but, in the six-strong DI21, judged by Donie McNamara (List 1), they had to share the honours on 68.45 with Matilda Falkhede riding the unregistered Darrara Shanbeg, a 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding by VDL Arkansas.

Shirley Mullins landed a cross-grade double before McNamara, hers coming on another ID, Gortfree Rebel, a 12-year-old liver chesnut daughter of Gortfree Hero. The combination scored 67.59% in the two-runner Elementary DI51 and 65 in the Medium DI65, where there were also just two official starters.

Eleven combinations appeared before Whitaker to contest the Preliminary DI15 in the short arena, where she awarded her highest score (68.21%) to Sinead McGrath on board the unregistered home-bred four-year-old Ballyj Max, a traditional ISH bay by Black Hero. In the McNamara-judged DI8, the overall leaderboard was headed by Astrid Martini-Facio with the ISH mare Ferro Blue Belle (67.88), a nine-year-old bay by S Creevagh Ferro.

In three-runner classes judged by Whitaker, there were wins for Laura McEntegart and Scotsborough Dick (67.61% in the Intro), Fionnan Kiernan O’Brien and Lohengrin (62.88 in the Medium DI67) and for Tracy Murphy riding Kennedy (64.71 in the Advanced Medium DI90). Uncontested victories were recorded before McNamara by Leah Treacy on Hartpury Sky Is The Limit (63.33 in the second Advanced Medium test), Sarah Slattery Madden with Savona (66.57 in the Advanced) and Sinead McGrath on Killard Precision (66.03 in the FEI Inter I).