THERE was a very close result to the Dressage Ireland Preliminary Category 1 championship at last weekend’s Wild Atlantic Dressage Festival, where Aoife Chambers’ win at the Ard Chuain Equestrian Centre on Sunday proved decisive.

Riding her home-bred Irish Sport Horse mare Rings Junior Girl, a five-year-old bay by Castlelawn Captain Junior, Chambers completed on a two-day total of 137.41% to see off the Saturday winners, Luke Dunne and the four-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Paco (136.56).

Just two combinations contested the Drumindoo Stud Category 2 championship, where Fiona Lee scored better in both tests for a total of 128.94% on her traditionally-bred ISH mare Enniskerry Riverdance, a seven-year-old Watermill Swatch grey.

Saturday’s class really decided the result of the Team Chambers Newport Novice Category 1 championship, as Matilda Falkhede’s comprehensive win that day helped her take the title on a total of 140% with her ISH gelding Darrara Shanbeg, a 19-year-old bay by VDL Arkansas. Niamh Macken finished second on the Sunday winner, Diamond King Henry (135.69).

That nine-year-old King Alton bay was the winner of one of the many rosettes presented to riders of Irish Draughts at the Festival by the Sligo Branch of the Irish Draught Horse Breeders’ Association. Beezies Stud presented rosettes to the riders of all Connemaras over the two days.

Cassandra Morris comfortably won the Norris Plant Hire Category 2 championship with her Dutch Warmblood gelding Lots Of Joy (138.6%), a tall, dark brown eight-year-old son of Negro, while Kevin Acres finished first and second in the Cloonamore Stables Category 3 championship. His winner was Con McCarthy’s home-bred ISH mare Greenogue Dilly (140.51), a six-year-old grey by Hector van d’Abdijhoeve, who competed in an EI100 at Crecora recently under the owner’s daughter Lucy. McCarthy also owns the second-placed Nybola Turfhorst (131.2), a similarly-aged Dutch Warmblood mare by Blue Hors Zackerey.

Elementary

Morris and Lots Of Joy also competed at Elementary level and finished second (134.6%) in the Midlands and Western Region Category 2 championship to Caroline Marwood and Investigator P (136.4), her 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Diamant de Semilly. This combination also won (67.78) the sole Freestyle class sponsored by A.J. Hession and Co.

David Freeney was the only rider to complete two tests in the Sinead McGrath Dressage Rider and Coach Category 3 championship, doing so on his and Stephen Byrne’s KWPN-registered gelding CLS Illusion (144.74), an 11-year-old chesnut son of Wynton. Freeney also topped the combined scores in the Professional Driver Training Medium Category 3 championship on Byrne’s similarly-registered CLS Icon (131.88), an 11-year-old Johnson bay. Here, however, he was pressed all the way by the Saturday winner, Elaine Murphy riding QT An Tainiste (131.34).

The result was even tighter in the Rock House Stables Category 2 championship, where Ger McNulty came out on top with the British Warmblood gelding Dionysus II (126.57%), an 11-year-old brown son of Desert Moon, ahead of Niamh Nolan and Toberpatrick Tom Boy (126.1).