THE popular and long-running Baileys Horse Feeds flexi eventing series, run by the Northern Region of Eventing Ireland at The Meadows, commenced last Saturday when, to no great surprise, the list of winners in the dressage phase included Denis Currie and Arodstown Aramis.

The Region pulled in the big guns of FEI eventing judges, Vanda Stewart and David Lee, to assess flatwork on day one and it was the latter who awarded Currie and his Irish Sport Horse gelding a very impressive score of 78.3% in the Novice class. On another day, Alex Byrne could well have won instead of finishing second of the 18 runners with Major Cross (71.8).

As the horse is now 19 years of age, Currie is not making too many plans for Arodstown Aramis, a Shannondale Sarco St Ghyvan gelding, who was bred in Co Meath by Carole Douglas out of the Broussard mare Rosetown Echo.

“He really felt good on Saturday when, for the first time ever, I jumped him before doing dressage,” revealed Currie, a multiple winner of this series, whose last success was in 2022. “He still had one fence down, mind you, but it’s great that he is still enjoying life and the plan is to finish the series and take it from there.”

Arodstown Aramis isn’t competing this weekend, as his owner/rider is having a weekend away in London where, somehow, Ulster just happens to be playing a must-win match against Harlequins in the champions cup.

The combination also competed in Saturday’s five-strong Intermediate class, but here Vanda Stewart had them second on 69.8%, reserving her top score for Tom Rowlatt-McCormick with Jonny and Clare Steele’s home-bred mare R Ballerina (70.7), who recorded the day’s only 1.20m show jumping clear.

Rowlatt-McCormick enjoyed an excellent eventing season last year with this 2015 well-related daughter of Centre Stage. Their campaign included a win in the CCI1*-Intro at Ballindenisk in April and a second-place finish in the Yeomanstown Stud EI110 (J) national championship at Kilguilkey in September.

Pre-novice

Seven combinations were awarded scores of 70% or more by Lucinda Webb-Graham in the 28-runner Pre-Novice class, where Alex Houston claimed the honours on the home-bred seven-year-old Dinky (76), another ISH mare by Centre Stage. Although the bay was broken late, Houston is happy that she will catch up with her age group and intends to ‘hit the ground running’ once the EI season starts.

Registered as My Atlantic Encore, Dinky is out of the unraced thoroughbred mare Lady Coroner (by Coroner). This is the family of Snowy Morning (by Moscow Society), whose nine wins included the Ten Up Novice Chase (Grade 2) at Navan, while he was placed twice at Grade 1 level.

The full thoroughbred Easy Pleased finished second (73.3%) under Felicity McConnell, who also partnered him to a clear round over the 90cm event track. This seven-year-old gelding by Mahler has twice won the ex-racehorse class at Balmoral, and is in line for the series’s top-placed thoroughbred prize of €150 sponsored by Treo Eile.

A large entry resulted in a divide to the Intro class, but still 27 combinations appeared before David Lee in Section A, where the well-established and very experienced combination of Kaiti McCann and her father Martin’s 2009 skewbald mare Boyher Cookies N Creme won on a score of 66.3%. Ben Foster finished a point adrift in second with the working hunter Brilla Estrellita, a seven-year-old ISH mare by Orestus, who was making her dressage debut.

In Section B, where 37 combinations were judged by Vanda Stewart, the honours went to Zara Reid and her father Gary’s 14-year-old bay mare Greylands Diamond Girl (77.5%). While the pony had a lot of experience, this was a new pairing on the EI scene last season, when they won the Northern Region’s EI80 award. Pauline Blair finished second (71.8) with Anna Hamilton’s 19-year-old bay mare Charley Browne.

In addition to Baileys awarding a special prize for the highest-placed member of a Pony Club Branch during the series, Area 17 will be awarding prizes for the top six members who accrue most dressage points in the course of the league.

These results will be used as part of the criteria for selecting a team to represent the Area in the home international at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May.