FOR the second Saturday in succession, the Northern Region of Eventing Ireland ran a one-day event at Tullymurry, where the extended Turley and O’Connor families had switched the cross-country track around to pose a very different challenge for riders.

They didn’t have time for a day off on Sunday as, having waved goodbye to the last of the day’s competitors at Tullymurry, their focus switched to Hazeldene Farm, where Andrew Napier and his wife Laura (née Turley) were hosting the ride phase of the Area 17 Tetrathlon.

Then, not too long after the last of the Tetrathletes had departed Hazeldene, word came though that Glenpatrick would have trouble holding today’s NR event and so the Napiers offered to host the fixture instead.

No-one would have been more disappointed that Glenpatrick had to be cancelled than landowner Britt Megahey, who takes huge pride in hosting the event in the venue’s pristine grounds.

Also, he would have been looking forward to competing in the EI110 (Amateur) on his Irish Sport Horse gelding R Showman, having won the equivalent class here on the Centre Stage nine-year-old, beating the usually unbeatable Denis Currie into second with Arodstown Aramis. Both riders are entered at Hazeldene today.

R Showman, who is out of the OBOS Quality 004 mare Boleybawn Saris, was bred in partnership with Gilbert Graham by Clare Steele, whose husband Jonny recorded a win and three top-six placings on Saturday on five horses produced at their Riverhill Stud on the other side of Downpatrick.

Jonny Steele and Zermatt won the EI110 (Open) class at Tullymurry 2 \ Anne Hughes

Special

Steele’s win came in the EI110 (Open), where he completed on his Lucinda Webb-Graham-awarded winning dressage score with the Anglo European Studbook-registered Zermatt (23 penalties). Steven Smith likewise also finished on his flat work mark to place second on Symone Brown’s seven-year-old ISH mare Premier Lara (29.8).

“This is a very special horse to his owners, Caroline Keatley and her mother, Lou Pooler,” Steele said of the 11-year-old Centre Stage bay. “They bred him out of the Arc Bright mare Chamonix, who Jim Newsman rode at Le Lion, and she was out of their Manx Edition mare Kitzbuhel, who I think the late David Foster rode at one stage. Zermatt will go to Hazeldene on Saturday and then will be aimed at either the 2*-L or the 2*-S at Lisgarvan (August 22nd to 25th).

“I was delighted with my other horses as well. Cosmic Dancer, who was third on her debut in the EI100, is a very talented mare by Lagans OBOS Quality, who has qualified for the five-year-old young event horse class at Dublin.

“John Simpson’s home-bred Somerville Springheeled (sixth in the EI110) is very fast across the country and will step up now.

“Although we picked up some time penalties and had two fences down show jumping to finish ninth, Final Encore was class across the county on her first start at EI110 level.

“Mharla Majestic Lady, who finished fifth in the EI90, has gone home and is due to run on Saturday with her owner (Cara Swanston) riding.

“The Turleys and the O’Connors have done a fantastic job at Tullymurry and every time you drive in you see more improvements have been made. The car park is now kerbed and there are flowerbeds everywhere. David O’Connor is a major cog in the wheel there now and nothing is left to chance.”

Steele was also very complimentary about the O’Connor-designed, Johnny Hagan-built cross-country track.

“The course was very good and had been changed around almost completely from the previous week. This meant you met a lot of fences on a downhill lie, which many riders didn’t like as it was a bit slippery after the rain; they don’t do nearly enough hunting or hacking these days. The course educated both horses and riders.”