AHANE, Co Limerick-based Tara Oliver Donohoe says she will travel any distance to compete at a nice, friendly show with a good surface.

Last weekend, her travels took her to the Botanica International Dressage In The City Summer Festival in the National Horse Sport Arena where she won both the Small and Big Tours over Saturday and Sunday and, with the highest score, was crowned Freestyle champion on Monday.

The family of four was split for the weekend as husband Mark dropped Tara, their lorry, their children Lilly (seven) and Jake (six) plus the two horses, Senators Rhonaldo and Furst Romance, at the Abbotstown sports campus before heading down to Cork to show jump.

Luckily, Tara’s sister Aimee Oliver, who also competed over the weekend on her six-year-old Johnson gelding Love The Difference, was on hand to help. With the horses stabled on-site, they just used the lorry during the day and stayed with their parents, Gerard and Margaret Oliver who live locally on the Navan Road, at night.

“I had a great weekend!” said Tara who recorded an unopposed Big Tour success with her Hanoverian gelding Furst Romance (65.565%), a black 11-year-old by First Romancier, and saw off five rivals to claim the Small Tour honours with her Oldenburg gelding Senators Rhonaldo (67.80), an eight-year-old bay by Rhondeo.

“The previous weekend, Rhonaldo was over at Somerford Park, where he won on the first of three days, so he has had a busy time of late and will have a bit of a break. I certainly want to qualify him for our National Championships but am also thinking of some international Small Tours. He’s green enough at the moment but I’m very happy with his progress. The other horse did his first Grand Prix at the weekend so now I just want to clean it all up a bit, get him more established at this level and see how things go.

“My parents haven’t been out much of late so I was delighted that they were at Abbotstown on Monday to see the Freestyle classes. I won the Prix St George on Rhonaldo and, as we recorded the highest score over the seven classes, we were the Freestyle champions.

“I have to say that I thought the Leinster Dressage training day at Abbotstown, which I attended in May, was brilliant! You got to ride your test in front of a judge but there was no pressure and afterwards you got to go through everything with the judge and get some tips. I missed the first one as we were on holiday, but won’t miss the next and I’d advise everyone to give it a go.”

Once the Oliver Donohoe family met up again at their Raheen House Stud, life was back to normal. Tuesday morning saw the children being readied for school after which Tara returned to coaching mode. “We have 10 liveries here and half of them are into dressage. Some are heading off to the Riding Club Festival (this weekend) while others are trying to qualify for the Nationals.”

Winning roll

Another rider who had a very good weekend and was in action on all three days was Co Waterford’s Emily Kate Robinson. She won both the Category 3 Elementary (68.84) and Medium (68.86) championships, and overall championships at these levels, with the home-bred Dutch Warmblood mare Kekepania.

The seven-year-old chesnut daughter of Lingh is out of the Jazz mare Vitania whose six-year-old Largento, who is also by Lingh, is due to compete shortly while her four-year-old Belisimo M gelding, Nalissimo, will be making his competitive debut over the summer. The Robinsons have retained Vitania’s yearling colt by Baldwins Dream Boy and are waiting for her to foal to Sir Donnerhall.

“As I was abroad for four weeks, working for the Allens (Bertram and Harry) with their sales horses, I let all my horses off and just had Keke and Ed (Edvaard) ready to bring out again at the weekend. I’d like to do some Premier Leagues in Britain over the summer with Keke and then aim her at the National Championships. It’s very rewarding, if hard work, producing horses you’ve bred yourself and then winning on them.”

Kavanagh victorious

Another dual winner with a home-bred over the weekend was Dressage Ireland chairperson Marguerite Kavanagh who landed the Category 3 Advanced Medium championship (69.22) and the Advanced title (66.07) on her ISH gelding Fursten, a 10-year-old bay by Furstenball out of the Carismo mare My Pretty Woman.

The highest combined score over the two days, 72.83%, was recorded by Jodie Scully, winner of the Category 1 Novice championship on board the 16-year-old piebald gelding Lassban Silhouette.

The judges’ panel on Saturday comprised Bernie Webb (Preliminary) and Liam Maloney (Novice) with Maloney and Dermot Cannon judging the Elementary class. Britain-based Andrea Smith and Dane Rawlins judged the remaining classes from Medium upwards. On Sunday, those competing at Preliminary level did so in front of Ivor Harper while Michael Moore took over as Novice judge before joining Rawlins to assess those in the high-graded classes.