JUST when we thought we had seen the last of the ‘Beast From The East’ up it pops as the feature fence on the Horse First Derby track at Kilronan Riding Club’s summer show last Sunday.

Complete with an eight-foot snowman, a Yeti and Brennans Bread wings, the fence, and track, were built by host for the day, Helena Dawson, who, no doubt, will have something similar in place for the St Luke’s Charity Pony Show on Monday week, June 4th.

In a bid to boost revenue, the Derby classes weren’t run in Grades but heights which proved popular with AIRC members who could then compete in more than one class on the day.

The neighbouring Drynam club fared extremely well in this section with wins for Cathy Sayers on Betsey (60cms), Fiona Cox with Lady Annabels Promise (80cms) and Aisling Wilson riding Lady Pixie Jones (90cms).

Cheval’s Roslyn Byrne won the 70cms class with the Connemara Lishmar Yorkie, Leslie Anne Lyons and Rupert Bear headed an all-Copperfield line-up for the prizes following the metre class while Killossery’s Brian Cassidy maintained a winning streak for his family (see Balmoral pages) when landing the 1.10m class with Looks Easy.

There were close results in most of the Horse Mad Store dressage classes but, in the Primary division, Damien McCormack awarded Cheval’s Sarah Cashin a score of 75% for her work with the six-year-old skewbald gelding Seskinskoll Billy. This left her well clear of the second-placed pairing of Leonie Irwin and Edenagor Kate (69.20) who represented Border Counties.

McCormack’s other winners were Cheval’s Elaine Phillips on Generous Gent in the Advanced Primary class and, at Open level, Louise Somers (Indian Mist) who was one of the hard-working Kilronan members behind this successful show. Drynam’s Julie Griffith on Blueberry Hill topped Mairin Cassidy’s assessment of the Intermediate riders while the same judge’s winner of the Advanced Intermediate class was Ashbrook’s Helen Clarke riding Out Of The Blue.

Clare Fitzsimons’s Smart Decision usually represents Ashbrook but, on Sunday, he was crowned XRS Expert Revenue Services champion hunter under Killossery’s Anna Burke. Burke and the 17-year-old Rachelle Comet gelding had progressed to the championship when topping the line-up of judges Michelle O’Rourke and Cormac O’Rourke in the lightweight class.

Drynam’s Carole Smillie won the medium/heavyweight section with her home-bred Streamstown Storm, Copperfield’s Karen Gibney won the small hunter class with her Connemara gelding Black Diamond Bob while Ruth Clinton recorded a win for the Castle Hill club with her cob Shy Boy who went on to be reserve champion.

Kilronan’s Grainne Curran won the Primary class with Bobby.

Competitive action in the North East Region this weekend is centred on tomorrow’s Horseware team show jumping championship qualifier at Kernan EC, while next Sunday, June 3rd, the Cheval club hosts its popular TRI Equestrian pre-Festival show at Jordanstown.