THE Leinster Region of Dressage Ireland held another of their two-day shows last weekend, on this occasion at Karl and Jenny Heffernan’s Redhills Stud outside Kildare town.

Saturday’s tests were at Preliminary and Novice levels with a Trailblazers’ section, while Sunday was devoted to those competing at Elementary level and above. It was cold and drizzly on day one, when woolly hats made a reappearance, but these were jettisoned 24 hours later, when the sun came out and stayed out.

“The two-day format works really well,” said Petra Larkin, chairperson of the Leinster Region and one of the show’s organisers, along with Lorna O’Hare. “Running all these classes on the one day puts too much pressure on everyone – this way, we can accommodate riders and people can enjoy themselves.”

Para classes, FEI underage rider classes and classes for young horses were advertised for day two, but there were no entries. Eva O’Neill, however, did avail of the opportunity of riding the FEI eventing CCI2* test on Blessington Prince Royal, Michael Moore (List 2A) awarding her a score of 67.92%. O’Neill and Miriam O’Donnell’s 18-year-old brown gelding are among the entries for the CCI2*-L at Millstreet next week.

Anna O’Connor won both two-runner Junior Elementary classes with her mother Susan’s Dutch-bred Welsh gelding Veentras Grapjas, landing the DI52, which was judged by Dermot Cannon (List 1), on 62.64% and the Moore-judged BD45 on 66.03.

At the same level, Caroline Lynch and the eight-year-old ISH mare Quora topped the leaderboard in the four-runner Cannon-judged DI52, ahead of Iris Walshe on Nirvana RH (67.08). In the BD45, where there were seven starters, Walshe and her eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding achieved Moore’s winning score of 68.79.

Prix St George winner Sean Burgess and Imperioso WW, pictured at the Leinster Region show at Redhills Stud \ Louise O’Brien Photography

Medium

Vitaliy Halstyan won the first of the Medium classes, the Moore-judged DI65, with his eight-year-old Pura Razza Espanola gelding Emotivo De Aboin (67.19%). However, in the DI77, Cannon preferred others to the Digital grey, awarding his highest score (67) to Ger McNulty and the British Warmblood gelding Dionysus II.

McNulty and that Desert Moon 11-year-old doubled up in front of Cannon when, on 64.12%, they landed the first of the Advanced Medium classes, the DI90. In the second, the Moore-assessed FEI Junior team test, where there were two withdrawals, Helen Dunne had a solo run with her Wurttemburger gelding Felino (64.39).

Moore’s winners of the six-runner Prix St George, Sean Burgess and Anita Kelly’s 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Imperioso WW (69.71%) were unopposed in the Cannon-judged Inter I, where they scored 64.85. Also in front of Cannon in the Inter II, Jenny Heffernan was another to record an uncontested victory, doing so on her Dutch Warmblood gelding, De Keizer KN (68.13).

Co Meath’s Caroline Lynch and Co Limerick’s Tara Oliver were also in action, and in competition against one another, at Preliminary level on Saturday when the former topped the scores of Jane Averill (List 6) in the 23-runner DI18 on her five-year-old ISH gelding DS Bouncer 007 (74.58%). Ivor Harper (List 4) awarded only one 70+ score in the 18-strong BD17A and that went to Oliver with her Slieve Bloom winner, Kokkedals Freyja (71.21).

Junior double

Maura Moore-McCune recorded a Junior double in front of Harper with Bryan Larkin’s 19-year-old Blokland’s Hoeve’s Amor, scoring 67.76% in the Preliminary BD17A and 71.21 in the Novice DI27A. That chesnut gelding’s former rider Linnea Larkin landed a double of her own at Novice level on Eileen Hannaford’s currently unregistered Hannoverian mare Delores, scoring 72.07 in the Harper-judged DI27A and 73 in the DI24A judged by Jillie Rogers (List 3). There were eight starters in both classes.

Three combinations, all entered in the CCIP2-L at Millstreet next week, appeared before Rogers in the FEI eventing CCI2* test, where her winners were Jessica O’Ryan and her mother Angela’s Connemara mare Carhu Melody (71.59%) a 10-year-old grey by I Love You Melody.

Rogers also judged all classes in the Trailblazers’ section, where she awarded her highest score (72.80%) to the Under 12s’ Preliminary class winners, Rachel Westphal and the 21-year-old Grange Kings Surf mare Clonross Giselle.

The Leinster Region’s annual Botanica International two-day Festival takes place next weekend at CoilÓg where, in addition to the usual championship classes, the organisers are advertising non-championship classes from Preliminary through to Medium level on Saturday. Take time to read about all the extra prizes on offer on the DI website.