TWO Dressage Ireland regions held shows last Saturday with the Eastern region running at their usual venue of Marlton Stud where the judging duties were divided by List 1’s Dermot Cannon and List 5’s Sarah-Jane Doyle.

Both judged a Preliminary class and, on scores of 74.8% (BD15) and 75% (BD19), had the same combination at the top of their leaderboards, viz David Freeney and the DI newcomer CLS Icon (aka Icon FEH). Stephen Byrne’s eight-year-old Johnson gelding is out of the Florestan mare Ursula W who, in turn, is out of a Castro mare.

List 4’s Jean Halpenny was also in attendance but, on this occasion, as a competitor and she topped Doyle’s marks in the Novice BD23 with her Dutch Warmblood mare G.Inglenooks Gracieux (71.25).

This 10-year-old by Amoureux is out of the Samber mare Evelien whose many progeny include the deceased Umenno, a coloured stallion by Wellington who won many championships in-hand throughout Britain and, under saddle, qualified for prestigious young horse championships in show jumping and eventing.

Doyle also assessed those forward in the second Novice class, the BD22, where she awarded her top score of 71.72 to Louise Fellowes and her 16-year-old chesnut gelding Caherbrack Tim.

Local winner

The Elementary classes and above were all judged by Cannon who had Jenny Doran and her Irish Sport Horse gelding Horseplay Clover Star, her nine-year-old home-bred by Captain Clover, at the top of his leaderboard in both the Elementary BD43 (68.28) and the Medium BD61 (66.38).

The more locally based Wendy Seymour won the second Elementary class, the BD45, with her ISH mare Carrick Diamond Lilly (67.24), an 11-year-old daughter of Carrick Diamond Lad, while Lorna O’Hare, who has had a busy time of late as organiser of some Leinster Region shows, recorded an uncontested victory in the Medium BD69 with her 13-year-old chesnut gelding, DBS Second Chance (61.97).

Oscar O’Connor was the sole starter in the FEI pony team test with his mother Susan’s 10-year-old palomino gelding Veenstras Grapjas (61.29), as was Grainne Hallahan in the FEI Para Grade II test with her ISH mare Jazzland (65.44), a 14-year-old grey by Silvano.

Small field at Connell Hill

There was a very small entry and a more disappointing turn-out for the Northern Region’s winter league show on Saturday at Connell Hill where only 29 combinations in total came before judge for the day, Mark Ruddock.

“I think the very poor weather forecast had a lot to do with it and the fact that many horses were finished up for the season after the National Championships,” commented regional chair Joan Adrain who tomorrow competes at Preliminary and Novice levels at the finals of the Horse Sport Ireland autumn development series in Greenogue with VSH Gangster.

Among those who did compete at last Saturday’s show was Lucy Adams who won both two-runner Medium classes with Esdals King W.A. In the DI65, Adams scored 71.41% while Rebecca McCauley was some way back on 64.22 with Fabiana. In the BD69, Ruddock awarded Adams a percentage score of 72.58 while McCauley was on 67.42 with her 10-year-old Hanoverian mare.

Esdals King W.A. is an eight-year-old bay gelding by Reekamps Eclips out of the Wicked Courtjester mare Elshofs Lindy.

Jill Hobson recorded an uncontested double at Advanced Medium level on her Irish Sport Horse mare Furisto Seven For A Secret, scoring 63.48 (FEI Junior team test) and 62.50 (DI90) on her 15-year-old bay daughter of Cavalier Two For Joy.

Another rider to win twice on the day was Kerry Magill who, with her ISH gelding Bonmahon Quick Step, scored 72.96 to see off three rivals in the Elementary DI51, while she and her Bonmahon Master Blue eight-year-old were the only starters in the Junior Preliminary where they scored 71.29.

There were just three combinations over the three grades in the open league. Carolyn Mellor claimed first place with VSH Gouveneur M in the Grand Prix (68.59), Lisa Dundee was second on her Intermediaire I winner Deja Vu Roundthorn (64.41) while Karen McKeown whipped-in with VSH Gangster in the Prix St George (62.35).

Our High Performance pony riders often plough lonely furrows on the national stage and, at present, this is particularly so in the Northern Region. Kudos therefore to Ellen McDonald who scored 71.14 in the FEI pony team test and 69.46 in the individual test with her father Jim’s Dutch riding pony Dante Alighieri, an 11-year-old chesnut gelding by FS Don’t Worry.

Today, the McDonalds travel down to Greenogue where Ellen and Dante Alighieri will face competition in the FEI pony classes from Rebecca Payne and Red Hot Butterscotch.

On 67.22, Erin McCoy finished fourth of four with Cloud Atlas in the Elementary class won by Kerry Magill on Bonmahon Quick Step but she and Claire Sedgeman’s 16-year-old Accondy gelding topped Ruddock’s marks in the three-runner BD57 on 69.29.

At Preliminary level, the winners were Kerry Taylor and her four-year-old grey gelding Ballylinney Max (69.42 in the DI6), who, disappointingly has no recorded pedigree, while, on 71.04, there was a divide in the DI18 between Gillian Graham and the ISH gelding Gorsehill Charmer, an eight-year-old Hermes de Reve gelding, and Hannah Thomson riding the ISH mare Sam-Mar Riverland Imp, a similarly aged bay by Riverland Roi.