THE opening leg of the 2022 Baileys Horse Feeds flexi-eventing series at The Meadows was held last Saturday when a huge crowd of dressage, show jumping and cross-country enthusiasts descended on the McCusker family’s Lurgan equestrian centre for this first training show of the season.

Judy Maxwell, Baileys area manager in Ireland, was delighted with the turn-out of riders of all ages with 160 combinations entered for the dressage phase alone. In a bid to give everyone a fair chance to win the overall awards, Dora Beacom, event co-ordinator for the Northern Region of Eventing Ireland, had to divide the Intro class into four sections and the Pre-Novice into two.

Action in the show jumping arena (where two courses were in operation all day, starting at 70cms and being finally raised to 1.20m) commenced at 9am and continued right through until just after 4pm while there was a great mixture of fences, including a water complex, for the three height classes (80cms, 90cms and 1m) in the two arenas provided for the cross-country phase.

While clear rounds produced multiple divides in both jumping phases, the dressage phase produced results on the day and, as previous winners of this popular series, it was no surprise to see Denis Currie get his training season off to the best possible start with victory in the Novice class on Arodstown Aramis (71%).

The bay, who was bred in Co Meath by Carole Douglas out of the Broussard mare Rosetown Echo, is registered as an Irish Sport Horse as were the vast majority of Saturday’s winners.

During the 2021 Eventing Ireland season, Currie and his 2005 Shannondale Sarco St Ghyvan gelding finished second and third in Open EI110 company at Glenpatrick and Finvoy 1 in May before winning four of their five EI110 (Amateur) starts later in the year.

On the only occasion they failed to top the leaderboard at amateur level, the combination finished second at Castle Irvine, Necarne to Tori Dixon and Mawillan who went on to be crowned EI100 (Amateur) champions and rounded off their season winning the CCI2*-L at Ballindenisk International (2).

On Saturday, Michael McGaffin finished joint-second with Caseys Cross (67.5) on whom he picked up the ride last year, although they only competed in four events in the spring, while Conor Savage was awarded the same score by judge Vanda Stewart for his work with Ben and Sue Stevenson’s Elpaso Rising Storm on whom he competed twice under EI rules last year.

Veteran winner

In the Stewart-judged Intermediate class, the highest score was achieved by Roisin Muirhead and her veteran Oldenburg gelding, Witto (72.8%), who was bred in Germany by Margarete Strohm. Because of work commitments and then Covid-19, this combination hasn’t competed much in recent years but Muirhead and her now 21-year-old chesnut by Welt Hit II represented Ireland at the Junior European dressage championships in The Netherlands in 2017.

Helen Faulkner also broke the 70% barrier when placing second with her Connemara gelding Derrivane Danny (70.5) while Currie slotted into third on Arodstown Aramis (68.9).

Lucinda Webb-Graham judged both Pre-Novice classes, awarding her highest score of 78.8% to the Section A winners, Tullymurry’s Elaine O’Connor riding Helen Fletcher’s Sir Barnabus. O’Connor and the 2009 Cyrano gelding, who was bred by Deane Brown out of Lauren Shore (by Rne Shore), won twice at both EI90 and EI100 level last season.

Here, second place was filled by last year’s Pony European eventing championships team bronze medallist Caoimhe Crozier and Hill Monarch (72).

Anna McErlean enjoyed an excellent 2021 Eventing Ireland season with Jenny Rollins’s Connemara gelding Raford Jack, winning three times and finishing second in four starts at EI90 (P) level. On Saturday, the pair won Section B of the Pre-Novice after the Bernard Brennan-bred 11-year-old by Stonewall was awarded a score of 75.8% by Webb-Graham. Orlagh Halliday claimed the runner-up spot on the American thoroughbred Cold War (73.5).

Martina McKinley judged two divisions of the Intro class and awarded her top score in Section A to Jonny Mulligan and Sandra Hamilton’s Kerran (72.5%). Purchased privately by the owner last year the 2018 bay gelding is by the Holstein stallion Coolkerran out of a Garrison Royal mare.

A regular competitor in this series, Shane McKeever claimed the honours in Section B on board the now 17-year-old Master Imp gelding KHS Impact (71.8). This traditionally bred bay is the last produce registered on CapallOir out of Roscommon breeder Ian Satchwell’s Codebreaker mare, Ashmount Lady.

Section C was judged by Vanda Stewart who awarded her top score of 68.3% to Karina McVeigh riding Coco, while the Sally Hodgkinson-judged Section D was won by Jackie Hanna and the traditionally bred Elamo Royal Diamond, her 14-year-old gelding by Colin Diamond.

The Baileys Horse Feeds flexi-eventing series continues every Saturday until March 5th.