Emer Bermingham
IT was another good year for our up and coming young riders with a host of impressive performances in the pony, young rider, junior and children on horses ranks.
Fontainebleau
In Fontainebleau, the team got off to an excellent start when winning 12 of the 18 classes that took place. The Nations Cup team of Harry Allen (Cassandra Van Het Roelhof), Cormac Foley (Crown Jewel), Grace O’Donnell (Orchids Vienna) and Cora Sharkey (The Galway Blazer) finished third.
In the individual classes, Hannah O’Shea (Cinderella Girl) was victorious in the CSI Pony Grand Prix while Grace O’Donnell (Orchid’s Vienna) finished fourth in the CSIO Pony Grand Prix. Following this strong performance, Olivia Roulston achieved the leading female rider with Robbie Clancy taking the leading male award.
Hagen Nations Cup
Irish pony riders delivered another good Nations Cup result at Hagen finishing with the team of Olivia Roulston (Ballygawleys Little Ferro), Abbie Sweetnam (Spartacus Reape), Luke Garrigan (Dr. Spot) and Hannah O’Shea (More Clover) finished equal second to Britain.
Abbie Sweetnam pulled off a great win in the Pony Grand Prix when registering the only double clear (Spartacus Reape). Michael Pender (Imagine If One) were fourth in the Grand Prix while Kayleigh Soden took eighth place (Castle Hill King).
European Championships
These good team performances prior to the championships set Ireland up for the European Pony Championships at Malmö in Sweden. For the second consecutive year, the team of Olivia Roulston (Ballygawleys Little Ferro), Abbie Sweetnam (Spartacus Reape), Luke Garrigan (Ballygawleys Little Ferro) and Michael Pender (Imagine Just One), missed out on gold by just three faults.
Barbizon
In October, riders put in another great performance in the Pony Grand Prix at Barbizon in France taking the first four slots. Taking the win was Mikey Pender (Cul Ban Mistress) while Grace O’Donnell (Orchid’s Vienna) took second. Third place went to Patrick Hickey (Wischin Chin M) and fourth was taken by Cormac Foley (Another Destiny) with Harry Allen (Acapella Z) eighth.
CWD Spring Tour proved to be an action packed league. In the final round at Ard Chuain, Kate Derwin claimed the win in the 148cms (Springhill Annora) but it was Hickey had took the title. In the 128cms CWD Spring Tour Final, Francis Derwin took the honours while Tom Wachman (PARC Epic) took the title. The Derwin onslaught concluded with Kate taking the win in and the overall 138cms title with Buttons Two.
Dublin Horse Show
In the 138cms division, last to go Jason Foley aboard Kiltormer Hero lodged the winning round while in the 148cms section, it was Jennifer Kuehnle and Our Foreman who took the crown.
The 128cms championship saw Francis Derwin and Essenar Jinja Ninja take an early lead but it was on his second mount, Buachaill Baire, that he took the honours. Victory in the six/seven-year-old championship went to Robbie Clancy aboard My Castlehill Lass. The leading pony rider for 2015 was Jason Foley.
SJI National champs
Along with a host of championships, the Pony Premier reached its conclusion at the National Pony and Young Riders Championships. A second place finish secured Katie McEntee at the top of the pack and she was crowned the under 10 champion while Francis Derwin won the 128cms Pony Premier.
The 138cms saw Jason Foley claim the league for the fourth year in a row. In other championships, it was Aine Shortall who took the under 10 National Championship title, Erin Crawford the128cm crown, Jason Foley the 138cms and Michael Pender the 148cms title.
Millstreet
In the Owners Pony and Young Rider Charity Show at Millstreet, Abbie Sweetnam and Ciaran Nallon both had an incredible show.
Abbie Sweetnam took the honours with Spartacus Reape in the International Pony Grand Prix while Ciaran Nallon posted a treble of wins in the young pony classes at the Green Glens Arena.
Cavan Home Pony International
In the Home Pony International Show at Cavan, all eyes were on those riders competing in the final Coolmore Grands Prix events.
In the 128cms, victory belonged to Ashley Dunne (Wingland Heloise), Harry Allen demonstrated his talent as he returned for the second year to take the honours in the 138cms Grand Prix with Lough Gill.
In the the 148cms, second last to go, Tyrone Flanagan and Cullagh Lass lodged the winning round.
As in previous years, young riders came out strong early in the year with a large contingent of them contesting the HSI/Connolly Red Mills Spring Tour. In the overall standings, both Anna Carway and Roisin Fagan finished in the top 10 placings. Carway’s two wins and a series of good placings saw her take the young rider title.
This was the start of what turned out to be a fantastic year for Carway. The young Kilkenny rider proved very consistent on the international circuit, being placed every day with Ajaccio in Switzerland at the Chevenez CSI -A Junior and young rider Show last October, finishing third in the Grand Prix and fourth with Winner in the accumulator.
Dublin Horse Show
As expected, the young riders championships in Dublin was a memorable occasion for many young riders but in particular Jenny Rankin as she not only took home a young horse championship but also claimed 1.40m young riders championship with Colorland’s Cheyenne.
The 1.30m championship went to Laura Connors (Just Jump), while Jonathan Smyth’s superb performance with Twentyfour Main Street saw them claimed 1.15m title. Kevin Gallagher was awarded the leading young rider of the show while Noelle Barry received the RDS Bursary and the Michael Meller style award.
Hagen Nations Cup
In Hagen, the Irish had much to celebrate as the Irish junior team of Philip Carey (Belle Rock), Anna Caraway (Ajaccio), Lucinda Roche (WCE Falco (ISH)) and Cormac Hanley (Caracter) finished third in the Nations Cup.
European Championships
Irish young riders added to Ireland tally for medals as the Gain Horse feeds Junior (U18) and Young Rider (U21) team won silver and bronze medals at European Championships.
The junior team of Philip Carey, (Belle Rock), Susan Fitzpatrick (Cavalino), Anna Carway (Ajaccio) and Cormac Hanley (Caracter) took team silver medal following a jump-off with Britain. The young rider team of Eoin McMahon (Prophane), Michael G. Duffy (Felix XXVIII ), Michael Duffy(VDL Groep Miss Untouchable) and Jonathan Gordon (Fellini 131) took the bronze.
SJI National Championships
Young riders were out in force at the national championships as they contested the Holmestead 1.30m which boasted a total prize fund of €3,500. Following some tough competition, it was Darragh Ryan and Apache VDLange Vos who took the win while Tim McDonagh was crowned leading young rider.
Autumn Grand Prix League
In the Gain/Alltech Autumn Grand Prix league, young riders proved to be a force to be reckoned with as five of them finishing in the top 10 in the overall standings. In Cavan Noelle Barry saw off stiff competition to take the win aboard Norway Venture, ahead of Sophie Dalm and Evita De Wulf Selection. Fellow young rider Cormac Hanley finished third in the autumn Grand Prix just behind Cian O’ Connor.
Overall it was a great season for Hanley having taken third in the $250,000 JR/A-O Jumper Prix at Saugerties, New York - the richest junior class in the world. Another consistent performance saw him finished best of the young riders in the league standings in third place. In the final leg at Cavan, young riders once again made an impression with Mayo rider Michael G Duffy aboard Bocello taking the honours.
Connaught Grand Prix
In the Connaught Grand Prix league, it was Jessica Burke and Vitesse who won the Connaught Grand Prix league. This was her second time to take the crown having won it in 2013.
2015 will surely be a year that Jennifer Kuehnle will hold with her for many years, due to a series of top results in the children on horses division.
In August, she put in an impressive performance to take gold in the children on horses final at the European Championships in Austria. Delivering two perfect rounds with Chaitanya 2, the Irish rider then went into a jump-off against the clock with three other riders, all of whom were German and came well over a second sharper than her nearest rival to take gold.
Jennifer was joined by Jack Ryan and Cavalier Teaca who finished 10th overall. Later in the year, Kuehnle continued to shine as the 13-year-old added the Pegus Leinster Spring Tour title to her list of achievements, finishing as the overall league winner as the most consistent performer over the course of the series with Chaitanya 2. She also took the leading young rider title in the league.
CWD Spring Tour
In the final round at Ard Chuain, it was Jack Ryan who took the title of CWD Childen On Horses Spring Tour winner 2015 while Jennifer Kuehnle took the runner-up place. Similiar to Kuehnle, Ryan had a year to remember with a host of wins which included first senior international victory when he won the power and speed class with Cavalier Teaca.
Hagen Nations Cup
Ireland’s under-age riders performed well under pressure in Hagen to finish in second place in the Nations Cup.
The team of Jack Ryan (Cavalier Teaca), Harry Allen (Wild Thing L), Isabel Fitzpatrick (Ulster) and Ciaran Nallon (Ciao Bella) finished second in the children on horses after a dramatic jump-off with the German and British teams.
Dublin Horse Show
In Dublin the individual Championship went to Emma McEntee aboard Galwaybay Hummer. The Co Down rider was fastest of the four double clears in 28.45 to take the title.
In the team championships, Marie Burke’s team of Charlotte Harding (Deepstring Tookanoo), Daniel Fitzgerald (Gucci Lady), Ciaran Nallon (Bully Fair Deal) and Charlotte Houston (Butuela) finishing on a total of six penalties.
SJI National Championships
Children on horses were put to the test as they contested the Bluegrass 1.15m at the National Championships. Taking this prestigious title was Taylor Sweeney and Zafira when they lodged the winning clear in 31.06 seconds.
Millstreet
Jack Ryan proved to be a dominant force at the Pony Owners and Young Riders Charity Show in Millstreet collecting no less than five wins and nine placings. Of these good results, Jack was in the top three spots in the children on horses 1.20m class, coming first on Niamh Burke’s Harlequin Beauty, second on Annmarie Fagan’s Pocahontas and third with Eddie Moloney’s GVS Captain.
For good measure on the last day of the show, the 13-year-old rider took the win in children on horses Grand Prix on Pocahontas.
To top off the weekend, Jack went on to win the €5,000 U/25 Young Rider Grand Prix with Captain Carusette.
Ryan also took two sixth placings in the FEI international pony classes and the show’s leading U/25 rider title.
Lichtenvoorde
In November, 14-year-old Harry Allen stole some of the media attention from his brother Bertram as he recorded two consecutive wins in the children on horses competitions at Lichtenvoorde in The Netherlands aboard (Wild Thing L).