TWO British Dressage List 1 judges officiated at last Saturday’s Leinster Region show in the National Horse Sport Arena – Richard Baldwin, who was to conduct a test and train clinic at the Abbotstown venue on Sunday, and Mark Ruddock, chairman of Dressage Ireland.

At this opening show of the region’s autumn/winter league, two riders recorded Graded doubles. The higher was achieved at Advanced Medium level by Tara Hayes on the home-bred Irish Sport Horse mare Sandora BS. Co Kildare-based Hayes and the Spielberg eight-year-old scored 67.35% in the Baldwin-judged, three-runner DI90 and 68 in the Ruddock-assessed FEI Junior Preliminary competition, in which there were four starters.

In the dedicated Junior section, Oisin Phelan and the ISH gelding Killahara Ailbhe, a five-year-old Boherdeal Clover bay, saw off their sole opponents to win the DI5A (71.43%), judged by Mairin Cassidy (List 4) and the DI6 (66.15), which came under the scrutiny of Alison Thorne (List 6). The highest score recorded in that Junior section was 73.45, which Baldwin awarded in the DI27A to Ava Dowley and Margaret Bowe’s unregistered Ida 83, an eight-year-old Crumble mare, who won the 35-runner CCI2*-S at the Kilguilkey international in June.

The only winning score over 70% awarded in non-restricted company was the 76.07 achieved by Ashbrook Riding Club secretary Mairead Dolan in the Cassidy-judged Preliminary DI5A, in the long arena, on her ISH mare Belperhill Aint She Sweet, a seven-year-old daughter of the thoroughbred stallion Sinatra. Ashbrook member John Gavin topped Baldwin’s leaderboard in the Novice DI27A on board his home-bred ISH gelding Holywell Contender (69.66), a Contendro six-year-old, who he competes with SJI.