THE Horse Sport Ireland autumn development series moved into the South Munster Region of Dressage Ireland last Sunday when the fourth, and last, qualifier was held at Ballindenisk. The final of the league, which is run in conjunction with the Department for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, takes place tomorrow at Greenogue.

While the two older classes ended up as matches before List 1 judge Vida Tansey, there were good entries in both the four- and five-year-old young horse qualifiers. However, there was no ‘springer’ among the 2017 brigade with Carol Gee’s Fernhill Count On Me recording an excellent score of 79.40% to win under senior stable jockey Fraser Duffy.

Following his impressive results during the autumn eventing and dressage development series, it hardly seems necessary to repeat that the Irish Sport Horse gelding is by Chacoa out of the Aldatus Z mare, Buttercup Elm. As at CoilÓg seven days earlier, Fernhill Count On Me’s strongest challenge on Sunday came from the Emily Kate Robinson-ridden ISH gelding Baby Guinness BW (75.40).

Eight combinations came before Tansey in the four-year-old qualifier where, in a closely fought contest, she awarded her top score of 73.80% to the ISH mare Dollywood SK who had finished third in CoilÓg. The chesnut, who is owned by breeder/rider Sorrell Klatzko in partnership with Jennifer Egan, is by the Luidam stallion Ard Golden Crisp out of the Oldenburg mare Desert Doll who was out of a Sandro Hit mare.

Here, Niamh Tottenham finished second on her home-bred ISH gelding Slieve Callan Solice (73.20) while, on 72.80, Sonya McCormack and Fraser Duffy shared third place on Your Very Welcome and Aisling Star respectively.

Co Clare-based Tottenham saw off her sole rival to win the seven-year-old qualifier on her ISH mare Fortmoy Queen Bee (62.17%), a bay daughter of Watermill Swatch, while honours in the six-year-old class went to Waterford’s Emily Kate Robinson and the Dutch Warmblood gelding Largento, a home-bred bay by Lingh.

Fraser Duffy completed a cross-level double on Sunday with Carol Gee and Deirdre Lanigan’s ISH gelding You Two Hotshot. The six-year-old Warrenstown You 2 bay first topped the scoring of Paula Geiger in the Novice DI23 on 73.06% before, on his Elementary debut, he landed the Geiger-judged DI46 on 71.73.

You Two Hotshot, who finished second in the CCI1*-Intro at Kilguilkey House in mid-summer and won an EI110 at Clyda in September, was bred in Co Waterford by Vahe Bogossian out of the Iroko mare Ballinamonapark Honey, dam also of the Vancouver mare Sportsfield Top Secret/Top Notch Sportsfield (CSI4*).

Win for Boles

In the Preliminary DI15, Shelley Lombard gave her winning score of 75.15% to the Donie McNamara-owned, Ethan Boles-ridden British Riding Pony Stanley Grange Regal Request, a 16-year-old chesnut gelding by Urubla Regal Promise.

Jacqueline Walsh, who scored 72.50 on Kilkeany Spirit, had earlier won the DI5A when she and her home-bred ISH gelding were awarded a score of 71.25 by Naomi Donoghue. The six-year-old is by Jack Of Diamonds (SWE) out of the Sea Crest mare Kilkeany Sea Mist who was out of a thoroughbred mare by Down The Hatch.

Vida Tansey’s winner of the Medium class was Bethany Mackey with her Dutch Warmblood mare Kalahari (69.84), a seven-year-old bay by Ferguson, while, in the Advanced she awarded Elaine Potter 66 for her test on her ISH gelding CLH Big Red, an 11-year-old chesnut by Womanizer.

Marie Hennessy judged the six-strong Advanced Medium class where her top marks went to Jessica Grogan riding Laura Haggar’s Dutch Warmblood gelding Christianson (67.79%), a 15-year-old chesnut by Briar. Sue Smallman saw off two rivals to land the Hennessy-judged Prix St George with her KWPN gelding Gloriant H (67.94) but partnered the 11-year-old Uphill chesnut to an uncontested success in the Inter I where Vida Tansey awarded the combination a score of 67.21.