LAST Monday was a Bank Holiday in Northern Ireland and members of Branches in Area 17 of The Pony Club celebrated the fact by descending in their droves on Lusk Equestrian outside Lisburn for the home championships in eventing which were hosted by the North Down Branch.

Parents don’t usually mind heading to Lusks where there is always a good breakfast on offer in the White Horse Café followed by a barbeque from lunchtime onwards. Those leading young competitors in the assisted 45cm class would have needed all the sustenance they could get!

After a nice, sunny morning the rain threatened to break through in the afternoon but held off as competitors tackled the challenging cross-country courses set by Jenny and Harold Lusk. It was great to see so many of the fences sponsored as were prizes.

It appeared at times this season that members of the Iveagh Branch weren’t winning as regularly as usual but they were certainly on target on Monday.

Their Swallows quartet of Ted Geary, Charlotte Betts, Abbie Knox and Sophie Nesbitt won the 85cm team championship with Geary (Lagan Lad) and Betts (Frankie) claiming the two individual sections at this level. It was a very good day personally for Geary who also recorded an individual win in the 85cm (Open) division on Twilight Dancer.

In the 75cm team competition, it was the Iveaghs’ Skunks foursome of Ella McCrory, Jocelyn Hutchinson, Ava Phillips-Martin and Annabelle Betts who came to the fore with the first-named winning one of the individual sections on Bobby Dazzler.

The second of these individual classes went to Sarah Sloan on Beanie. They represented the East Down Branch which also won a section of the 45cm assisted competition through Farrah Davidson and Nat King Cole.

Comprehensive

The North Downs’ Holly Blythe, Alice Salters, Zara Reid and Rachel Booth recorded a comprehensive victory in the 85cm (Open) championship, a feat matched by the Branch’s Robins squad of Esther Lowry, Eirin Wardle, Amira Greeves and Grace Jackson at 45cm level. Jackson landed one of the individual competitions on Juno while there were wins also for Molly Reid on Little Me (75cm (Open)) and Eve Lawther with Cream Cracker (65cm).

Mid Antrim’s Charlie Henry-McCool landed a division of the 85cm (Open) individual competition on Scrumpy and fellow Branch member Molly Clarke was the comfortable winner of a section of the 65cm individual class with Belle.

East Antrim Branch members, and their very fit leaders, came to the fore in the 45cm assisted championship with victory in the team event through Lily Crawford, Amelia Logan, Libby Healy and Alec Goodrich. The last-named won the second individual section on Tiny Tim.

There were just three squads in the 75cm (Open) team competition and only the Tullylagan Branch managed to complete thanks to Sarah McKenzie, Sofia Newell and Katie Kilpatrick. McKenzie won the second individual section on board Norm’s Sparky. The second individual 45cm competition fell to Fermanagh’s Maia Roulston-McAuliffe riding Emerald Chubba.

Thirteen squads contested the 65cm team championship of which 10 represented one or other of the Branches in Area 17. Three teams were comprised of members from different Branches and it was one of these, the Mixed Team Skittles, who claimed the honours.

The winners were Sarah Wilson (East Antrim), Amy Reid (East Antrim), Lacie McDowell (Mid Antrim) and the previously-mentioned Molly Clarke (Mid Antrim).

There are some great photographs of the day’s smiling prize winners on the North Down Pony Club Facebook page with popular Area 17 representative Liz Lowry making the odd appearance or two.