KEVIN Acres, Dressage Ireland’s national champion for 2023, won the Beezies Stud Big Tour title at last weekend’s Wild Atlantic Dressage Festival on his Mullingar partner, Con McCarthy’s Dutch Warmblood gelding, Ganesh.

At the Ard Chuain Equestrian Centre, Acres and the 13-year-old Jazz bay won Saturday’s Intermediate II on a two-judge score of 70.54%, while the combination topped Sunday’s Grand Prix, where, again, two judges officiated, on 65.59, giving a championship-winning total of 136.13. Sarah Mellor placed second with her 14-year-old Hotline mare, Hotshot (124.21).

Acres, who was pleased with all three horses he rode over the weekend, was paying his first visit to the Festival and commented: “It was a really nice show, especially for my young horses, and the ground was great. It’s lovely to compete somewhere different and particularly in such a nice setting.”

Horse Sport Ireland’s high performance dressage director, Anne Marie Dunphy, claimed the Slieve Bloom Stud Small Tour championship on her ISH gelding LEB Hugo (133.45%). With the 11-year-old Woodlander Rockstar gelding, Dunphy won Saturday’s Prix St George on a score of 66.17 and Sunday’s Intermediate I on 67.28. Lucy McCarthy placed second with her father Con’s Dutch Warmblood gelding Lloyd W (126.32), an 11-year-old chesnut son of Lorano.

There were two judges in situ for both classes, as well as for those that produced a result in the Moy Oil FEI children’s champion won by Millie Cosgrave on her mother Sarah Mellor’s Let’s Dance (139.5), a 17-year-old Oldenburg mare by Sir Donnerhall, and in the Surlis’ SuperValu Advanced championship won by Lucy Cusack with her KWPN-registered Gavelle Ter Kwincke (107.12), a 13-year-old bay daughter of Ravel.

At Advanced Medium level, the winners were Nessa Toher Shannon, who scored 125.82% in the Annaghmore Stables Category 2 championship on Furst Fendi, her 11-year-old Furstenball mare, who comes from the family of the recent Ballindenisk CCI4*-S winner Chicko, and Christine McBride, who claimed the AGS Scaffolding Category 3 title with Calcourt Landline (126.19), her 18-year-old Anglo European Studbook-registered gelding by Landjonker.