AVRIL Rea is bridging the gap between ponies and horses this year and, while she didn’t have the best of results in the EI100 (P) class at Kilguilkey House last weekend, she recorded an all-the-way win in the TRI Equestrian EI80 championship on her father Pat’s DSL The Explorer.

The Reas purchased the now six-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding last November and 16-year-old Avril and the brown son of Cormint had their first five EI starts together at EI90 level, with mixed results. They dropped down into EI80 company at the start of the month in Clyda, where they filled the runner-up spot, and last weekend marked their second outing at that level. Representing the Scarteen Branch, the pair have also competed in Irish Pony Club one-day events.

As his prefix would suggest, DSL The Explorer was bred by Lars and Caroline Bjoerk. He is out of the Ard VDL Douglas mare DSL Swonderful who did a small amount of show jumping herself but is a full-sister to Dollanstown (CSI5*) and to the dam of Maplevalleys Concorde (CCI3*-L).

At Kilguilkey House, Rea and DSL The Explorer completed on their winning dressage score (27.5 penalties) to claim the title ahead of Lucy Ferris on the Connemara mare Duncarbery Cascade (29), who she only started riding in July, and the Lily Corrigan-partnered ISH gelding 101 Dalmatians (32.1). Both Ferris and Corrigan are in their first year competing with Eventing Ireland

Two of the 15 starters were eliminated on the cross-country course where there was one retirement while four other combinations had problems in jumping.