WITH some riders already moving across to the sunshine tours, it has been a muted start to the 2017 British season.

However, with the premier winter circuit now in full swing, sport is gathering momentum and Anthony Condon made a very productive visit to South View Equestrian Centre in Cheshire as a warm up for the forthcoming Aintree Elite Show.

Riding Friso, a horse owned by Neil and Christine Fiddes, Condon recorded a great win in the Foxhunter. Good entries ensured a hotly contested jump-off, where Condon risked a tight turn back to an imposing double.

“Friso is a very consistent horse, this was a busy class and he was smooth all the way. This was all about education as he’s now learning to turn back quicker.

“He has all his double clears for the Foxhunter second rounds which will be the main aim for him this summer,” said Condon.

The Waterford rider racked up a second win in the 1.25m when Lisa Hales’ SFS Arla set an unbeatable target in the two-phase competition.

Arla is home-bred by the great Arko out of a Voltaire dam and the ultra-careful eight-year-old chesnut mare is a full sister to another of Condon’s successful rides Aristio.

“Arla jumped a couple of 1.40s towards the end of last year and she’s continuing to step up well.

“I hope to start her in a couple of ranking classes this year,” added Condon.

Taking the stable’s tally up to four wins on the day was Anthony’s partner Laura Johnson who topped the British novice and discovery classes riding Kat Taylor’s Carlton Z and Canterbury. Both of these horses have only just joined the team.

It proved to be a good week for ‘team Condon’ as five youngsters shared between Anthony and Laura had gone well at South View just three days before, most of them jumping British novice double clears.

DUNNE DEBUT

Also, competing at South View was Hayley Dunne, who has moved across from Kildare to train with Dave and Sharon Quigley at their Q Sport Horse base in Shropshire.

Hayley was a team rider all the way through pony and young rider classes and she made her senior Nations Cup debut with former ride Flinstone de Tiji, who was sold to Scott Brash in 2014 (now known as Hello Guvnor).

On her first British outing of 2017, Dunne rode her own Dieschone in the Foxhunter, the seven-year-old by Diarado producing a nice double clear.

Dunne, who is combining doing an online masters course in Environmental Health with competing, produced a second double clear riding Dave Quigley’s Diamant De Semilly-sired seven-year-old, Destiny Second Life Z .

FIRST OUTING

Another rider joining Dave and Sharon Quigley is Aoife Dooley, who has been based with Dermott Lennon in Banbridge, Co Down, for the last for two years.

The Newry rider joins stable jockey Paul Kennedy at Q Sport Horses and she enjoyed a good first outing at South View’s midweek show where she rode H Day Van Bareelhof Z in the newcomer and Foxhunter classes and D Hollinwood Rusty Ryan in the 1.25m, both horses just nudging a rail off in the jump-off.

The Q Sport Horse team anticipate travelling around 10 horses to the Aintree Elite Show this weekend.

Down South, Brian Cassidy was another rider to have a good first outing of the new year when Guminka, Mega Heat Wave and the Irish-bred CSF Vendi Cruz all jumped pleasing double clears. Guminka is a newly registered Bernini six-year-old who Cassidy has high hopes for.

“I bought him in Holland three years ago and think he’s a very smart horse.

He’s already attracting plenty of interest and I’m looking forward to getting him out more now,” said Cassidy, who, with an abundance of rising stars in his stable, will be targeting young horse shows in Europe.