BRITISH Dressage List 1 judges Sara-Jane Lanning and Mark Ruddock were the two charged with finding the winners of the Horse Sport Ireland dressage autumn development series finals which, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, were held last Sunday at Greenogue.

The finals were staged by the Leinster Region of Dressage Ireland whose chairperson, Clare Fitzsimmons, was delighted with the high standard of horse and production in the four age classes and with the comments of the judges who were particularly impressed with the Tara Hayes-ridden Sandora BS, winner of the six-year-old title.

Owned by the rider’s mother Fiona and bred by her father Will, Sandora BS is an Irish Sport Horse mare by the Westfalian stallion Spielberg. The bay, who competed in two of the four qualifiers and won at both at Marlton and CoilÓg, is out of the unraced Zagreb mare Silver Grouse who has bred two winners on the track and comes from the family of Silver Birch, Man On The Line and Alexander Banquet.

On Sunday, Sandora BS achieved the excellent score of 86.20%, which saw her win by a near 10-point margin from the runner-up in the six-strong final, the ISH mare Don Juan’s Doll (76.60), a chesnut by Don Juan de Hus who was ridden by her owner, Jennifer Egan.

“I was really delighted with my mare!” said 20-year-old Curragh-based Hayes. “Both judges were very complimentary about her and while remarking that she spooked during her test, they were impressed by her trot and canter work. They also commented that she displayed great training and had wonderful self-carriage.

“The plan for next season is to do the seven-year-old classes,” continued Hayes who is studying Biomedical and Biological Sciences at Maynooth. “She is a

Countrywide

The honours, and prize-money, were spread throughout the country with Co Mayo’s Sinead McGrath winning the four-year-old final on Ballyj Ed (78.40%) who was bred at their Ballyjennings Stables near Ballinrobe by the rider’s husband, Fintan.

Best of the bay’s eight rivals was the Emily Kate Robinson-owned and ridden ISH gelding BW Bologna (76), a son of Heartbreaker whose Quaprice Bois Margot half-brother, Quarisma Della Caccia, was jumped at 1.60m level by Bertram Allen, while Fraser Duffy finished third on Carol Gee’s Landenco mare, Aisling Star (73).

Ballyj Ed is one of just two horses in the first crop of the McGrath-bred Registered Irish Draught stallion Black Hero who jumped to 1.20m level. He is out of the non-winning point-to-pointer Memories Of Emly (by Pilsudski) whose family, in its further removes, features the multiple Stakes winner Pre-Eminent.

In August, when ridden by Sinead’s nephew Godfrey Gibbons, Ballyj Ed won the National Eventing Discovery final at the Millstreet International horse trials, while the McGraths’ daughter Rebecca has also competed the traditionally-bred family horse.

Having successfully displayed his flatwork and jumping prowess throughout the HSI autumn eventing development series, Carol Gee’s ISH gelding Fernhill Count On Me has proven just as proficient when it comes to pure dressage.

Ridden by Fraser Duffy, the Chacoa bay won the two qualifiers he contested – at CoilÓg and Ballindenisk – and rounded off his 2022 campaign with victory in Sunday’s five-year-old final where he was awarded a score of 81.20%.

Nicki Russell finished second with Julie Finnegan’s Connemara mare Callowfeenish Silver (80), a bay by Kippure Alkatraz, with Emily Kate Robinson placing third on the ISH gelding Baby Guinness BW (78). This bay son of the Dutch Warmblood stallion Guinness is out of an OBOS Quality 004 half-sister to the Master Imp gelding Killossery Jupiter Rising (CCI3*).

Fernhill Count On Me was bred in Co Limerick by Joanne Murphy Hanley out of the Aldatus Z mare Buttercup Elm who has since produced a filly (2021) and a colt (2022) by Vivant van de Heffinck. According to Duffy, Fernhill Count On Me could reach the top in any of the three Olympic disciplines.

Mixed day

It was a frustrating day on the results front for Waterford’s Emily Kate Robinson, who had a ride in all four young horse classes. Even in the two-runner seven-year-old final, she and the home-bred Dutch Warmblood mare Kekepania, a chesnut by Lingh, had to settle for second on 67.60% behind Niamh Tottenham riding the traditionally-bred ISH mare Fortmoy Queen Bee (71.20).

That Watermill Swatch bay did a small bit of show jumping and eventing in 2020, winning twice and placing third once in three EI90 outings and finishing third twice when upgraded a level. She was bred in Co Tipperary by Marie Deasy and is the first produce registered on CapallOir out of the Gurraun Zidane mare Fortmoy Shinawill. Fortmoy Queen Bee is now on the market.

Co Clare-based Tottenham was happy enough with her fourth place finish in the highly-competitive five-year-old class with her home-bred Tyson gelding Slieve Callan Gael, on whom she finished third in his young event horse class at the Dublin Horse Show.

However, she was not so pleased with the grey’s year younger full-brother Slieve Callan Solice who, having finished sixth at Dublin and having performed well in the qualifiers, decided that the judge’s end of the arena here was a place best avoided.