THE last of the Northern Region’s winter league shows was held on Saturday at Castle Irvine, Necarne, where Joanne Jarden judged half of the 20 classes, although none of these had more than six participants.

The List 1 assessor awarded her highest marks of the day to Erin McCoy, who achieved a score of 70.45% in the FEI Junior team test, in which she was the sole starter on Jane Howard’s Bjornsun.

In the preceding FEI Junior individual test, which was also judged by Jarden, McCoy and the 18-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Johnson scored 68.82.

Uncontested wins were also recorded in front of the same judge by Laragh O’Grady with her Irish Sport Horse gelding Mullentine Emerald Wolfe Tone (66.76% in the FEI Intermediate II), by Eilish Smith with the Breeders Elite-registered mare Sheepcote Jamboree (62.79 in the Prix St George) and by Orlaith O’Hagan with her Connemara gelding OOS Diego (61.45 in the BD Advanced Medium 98).

Jarden also judged both Medium classes, where Denise Kelly Rice won the three-runner BD75 with Pamela Wilson’s Westphalian mare Forvanna (64.86%). Second there on 61.35 with Runaway Rebel, Christine Newton saw off one rival when landing the BD61 (62.59) on her 20-year-old ISH gelding.

Six combinations appeared before Jarden in the Elementary DI55, where she awarded her highest score of 66.43% to Sharon Getty riding her ISH mare Taptoo (66.43).

There were six starters also in the other Elementary, the BD53 judged by Coreen Abernethy (List 4), where Getty had to settle for third (68.97), behind Lisa Dundee on Patricia Connon’s home-bred ISH mare RoundThorn Nice N Easy (70) and Hollie Donnan on board Suzie Seagry (69.26).

Sharon Getty riding Taptoo won the Elementary DI55 class at Necarne \ Kyra Griffin

Novice

Jarden and Abernethy also shared the judging duties at Novice level, where both had Eve Adair and the piebald mare Dot at the top of their respective leaderboards in the six-runner DI23 (69.19%) and in the BD39 (71.35), which attracted half a dozen starters too. Lucy Donnan was the sole competitor in the Abernethy-judged Junior Novice on board the Connemara gelding Killoughter Nugget (70).

Coreen had a far busier stint at Preliminary level, as 18 combinations appeared before her in the BD19, where two were awarded scores of 73.33%. These were Louise Cleland, who had the higher collective score (74 to 73) with her traditionally-bred ISH mare Rumour Has It, and Alexandra Ryan with her Connemara gelding Ambition.

Emma Hobson (List 6) judged the other Preliminary classes and, while she had just Imogen Heap to assess in the dedicated Junior class on Edenmore Star (65.26%), there were 16 starters in the non-restricted DI8.

Here, again, there was a dead-heat at the top of the overall leaderboard on 67.69 and again on collective scores (61 to 62), Ryan and Ambition were edged out by Kristen Kleinman and the unregistered Guest, winners earlier of the Hobson-judged Intro class on 70.87.

There was only one starter in each of the three Trailblazer classes judged by Hobson, who awarded her highest score in this section (70.79%) to Sophie Cathcart, who lined out in the Preliminary BD1 on the Connemara gelding Máistir Ruadh.

Lisa Dundee riding RoundThorn Nice N Easy to win the Medium BD53 at Necarne \ Kyra Griffin

The Region’s winter finals take place next Saturday, March 23rd, at Danescroft, where the winter league prizes will be presented. The winners are Lorraine Gibson with Miss Maisy Raine (Intro), Louise Cleland with Rumour Has It (Preliminary), Eve Adair with Dot (Clare Vet Group Novice), Robyn McMurray with Rocca Banana Man (Elementary), Casey Webb with Aprils Pacino Time (Medium), Orlaith O’Hagan with OOS Diego (Advanced Medium) and Jill Hobson with Furiston Seven For a Secret (Open).