THE North Munster Region of Dressage Ireland held the second leg of the Childeric autumn league last Sunday at Roscrea Equestrian Centre, where the judges on duty were Faith Ponsonby (List 2A) and Elena Satalkina (List 5).

The former judged four of the higher graded league classes, awarding her highest score of 70.86% to the Novice DI27A winners, young Evie Kennedy and her mother Maeve’s Connemara gelding Blackwoodland Breeze, a 13-year-old grey by Glencarrig Prince, who has 44 DI points and a successful showing career to his credit.

There were four starters in the Elementary league qualifier (DI55), where Category 3 rider Anna Chambers topped the leaderboard with Gael Sallam’s Irish Sport Horse mare Leestone Darco Breaker (68.75%). Under the name WKD Leestone, this 10-year-old by Darco jumped at CSI4* level with Sameh El Dahan, then representing Egypt, but is now back competing under Show jumping Ireland rules with Sallam’s son Yousef.

There were uncontested wins for Caroline Marwood and Hannah Rose’s Dutch Warmblood gelding Investigator P (61.88%), a 10-year-old by Diamant de Semilly, in the Medium league qualifier and for Bethany Mackey and her Dutch Warmblood mare Kalahari (65.29), a nine-year-old daughter of Ferguson, in the Advanced Medium qualifier.

Satalkina judged the two-runner Introduction qualifier (DI Test B) won by Jennifer Haverty on her own ISH mare Greenlawn Paris (71.76%), a 19-year-old bay by Sirocco Rouge del Sauro, and the two-runner Trailblazers’ Under 12 qualifier won by Andy Kennedy, Evie’s brother, riding the 12-year-old Welsh gelding Maihem First Edition (71.38).

Ally Gabbett recorded an uncontested victory in the Junior Preliminary qualifier, where Satalkina awarded her a score of 69.80% on the working hunter pony and former eventer Oh Dakota Justice, a 13-year-old Connemara gelding by Rebel Justice. In the Preliminary DI8 qualifier, the narrow winner was Category 2 rider Eilis Kennedy with her six-year-old mare Royal Oak Bonnie (70.96), a black cob with four white legs.

Unregistered

While the league classes were restricted to DI members, some others were open to all and unregistered winners included Anne Croome Carroll with her home-bred ISH mare Diadem Eclipse (72.08%), a five-year-old by Chinook Eclipse out of Random Hilltop Diamond (by Rantis Diamond), who topped the scores in the Ponsonby-judged Preliminary BD19.

Sophie Cusack claimed the honours in the Satalkina-assessed AIRC Preliminary 1 (in a 20x40 arena) on the unregistered Connemara gelding Dunguaire Mick (71.96%), a 10-year-old grey by Banks Timber, who has 91 Show jumping Ireland points.

Category 2 rider Tara Dalton topped Ponsonby’s scores in the open Novice BD23 on her Ukrainian Warmblood gelding Burgomistr (67.92%), a 12-year-old by General, while the same judge awarded a score of 67.41 to Category 1 rider Susan Humphreys on her ISH gelding One Station Diamond, a son of Le One, the sole combination in the Elementary BD43.

This weekend, the Northern Region winter league continues today at Knockagh View EC and there are two DI-affiliated shows tomorrow, the Eastern Region at Marlton and the third leg of the Childeric autumn league at Sceilig EC hosted by the South Munster Region.