METEOROLOGISTS, climatologists and astronomers may have been in agreement that spring had definitely sprung earlier in the week, but the weather on Saturday didn’t give lie to the Northern Region of Dressage Ireland naming their show at Danescroft as their Winter League Finals.

British Dressage’s Jane Howard (List 1) judged four of the seven championship classes, starting at Preliminary level, where 14 combinations appeared before her in the BD19. The result couldn’t have been tighter, with two competitors, on collective marks of 67 apiece, recording scores of 66.04%.

These were Category 2 rider Louise Cleland with her Traditional Irish Sport Horse mare Rumour Has It and Category 1 rider Alexandra Ryan with her Connemara gelding Ambition, an eight-year-old dun by Drumbad Fletcher Moss. The scorers had to take a closer look at the walk marks before declaring Cleland the winner.

A striking seven-year-old grey by the Grade A Connemara stallion Builders Delight, Rumour Has It was bred in Co Tyrone by Anne Torrens out of the German thoroughbred, Elle Belle. That 2009 Nicaron mare ran poorly three times for the breeder’s trainer husband, Mervyn.

Disappointingly, only one combination started in each of the other three championship classes judged by Howard.

Lucy Donnan scored 61.67% on her Connemara gelding Killaughey Super Sonic, a seven-year-old by Coosheen Stormboy, in the Junior Preliminary; Lucy Adams scored 61.71 in the Advanced Medium on her New Forest pony Esdals King W.A., a seven-year-old gelded son of Reekamps Eclips; and, in the Prix St George, Yvette Truesdale secured the Open championship with Linda Telford’s ISH gelding Homegrown Ajax (59.12), a 14-year-old Obelix grey.

Kerry Taylor and Ballylinney Max won the novice championship at the Northern Region Winter league finals \ Ellie Johnston Photography.

Novice championship

Rosie Gomes (List 3a) judged the 18-strong Novice championship class (DI27A), where her overall leaderboard was topped by Category 1 rider Kerry Taylor and her lovely seven-year-old grey gelding Ballylinney Max (73.97%), who, sadly has no recorded pedigree.

Second there on 72.93% with Clantara Lord Louis, Caroline Herron wasn’t going to be denied at Elementary level, where she and her six-year-old ISH gelding scored 72.81 in the 12-runner championship class (BD59), judged by Jillie Rogers (List 3). Home-bred by Herron and Lorraine Jackson, Clantara Lord Louis is by Hoeks Ludo W out of the Gentle Diamond mare Strandhill Misty.

Medium championship

In the Gomes-judged Medium championship, Carolyn Mellor recorded a comfortable success over her sole rival when scoring 70% on Joan Adrain’s Dutch Warmblood mare Isabelle, an 11-year-old chesnut daughter of Blue Hors Zack out of the Sandro HIT mare Avalanche.

To enable members to achieve qualifying scores for Dressage Ireland’s upcoming national winter finals at Mullingar Equestrian (on Saturday next, April 6th), non-championship tests were offered at almost all levels, some filling better than others.

Eleven combinations performed the Preliminary DI6 test before Jillie Rogers, who awarded her highest score (70.38%) to Rachael Kernaghan riding her traditional cob Scarborough Fair, a 10-year-old black mare. The same judge’s winner of the four-runner Novice BD39 was Barbara Hanna with her home-bred Traditional ISH gelding Rock Shenanigans (70.19), a 12-year-old by the Connemara stallion Bobby Sparrow Blue. There were four starters also in the Jane Howard-judged Elementary DI55 won by Anya Skilling on her ISH mare Tiz Quality (64.82), a seven-year-old bay by OBOS Quality 004.

The same three combinations contested the two non-championship Medium classes on the day.

In the Howard-judged BD69, the winner was Christine McBride on her Anglo European Studbook-registered gelding Calcourt Landline (66.52), an 18-year-old son of Landjonker. Here, Denise Kelly Rice finished second on Forvanna (65.30), some way ahead of Amelia McFarland riding Kingston Olive (59.70).

In the Gomes-judged BD75, it was Co Donegal-based McFarland who came out on top with the home-bred Kingston Olive (69.86%), an eight-year-old ISH mare by Sir Donnerhill I. Again, Kelly Rice slotted into second on Pamela Wilson’s seven-year-old Westphalian mare Forvanna (69.46), with McBride placing third on Calcourt Landline (65.27).