THE Wexford Hunt Branch held the second leg of this year’s Connolly’s Red Mills/Irish Pony Club eventing championships last Sunday at The Kennels, Moorefields, where, with divides, the advertised four classes became 10.

With so much happening on the Pony Club scene at present, we can just briefly mention the winners here, starting with Section A of the Intermediate, where Newcastle Lyons’ Aoife Flynn topped the final leaderboard with Rock Houdini (37.5 penalties), despite the 10-year-old bay gelding lowering two coloured poles.

Honours

Shillelagh’s Ned Kelly claimed the honours in Section B, where he completed on his joint-winning dressage score (21.5) with Maria Tyrrell’s Connemara gelding Fiona’s Fionn, a 16-year-old grey son of Monaghanstown Fionn, who has plenty of international eventing experience to his credit.

Unusually, the Intro Intermediate was split with the first division going the way of South Union member Rian Tagney, who led throughout with the eight-year-old tri-coloured gelding FVS Jestere Million (30).

Killinick Branch members finished second, third and fourth in that division, but won Section B thanks to the efforts of Jess Murphy, who was another to finish the day on her flatwork mark (23), doing so on board Ann Lambert’s Irish Draught stallion, Ashfield Bouncer, a six-year-old son of Grange Bouncer.

Juniors

Killinick representatives won two of the four Junior classes through Ava Murphy, who scored by one penalty point in Section A on a son of Killinick Bouncer, the seven-year-old gelding My Bay Bouncer (30), who had a pole down show jumping, and through Lucy Stafford who completed on her first-phase score with the 11-year-old roan gelding Shogs (30) in Section C, where there were a lot of eliminations.

Kilkenny’s Gearoid Farrell led throughout to win Section B with Highwood Oak Of Shanbo (27), a 13-year-old dun by Illaunurra Cathal, while the South Union got a second win on the board through Samantha Gash Hickey, who was left in the lead in Section D with the 10-year-old grey gelding Charlies Freedom (30).

Riding the Connemara gelding Savanose Bobby, a 16-year-old dun by Gloves Bobby, the in-form Anna Kennedy finished closer to the optimum time in Section A of the Under 12s’ competition to see off fellow Tipperary Branch member Cara Hally, who competed on the same dressage score (29.75) with Ard Fhionain Spring Time, a similarly-aged bay mare by Templebready Bosun.

The optimum time ruling also had to be brought into play to decide the winner of Section B, Shillelagh’s Sarah Ryan being declared the winner with the Connemara gelding Ballinaguilkey Rocco, despite Wexford’s Clodagh Murphy completing on the same score (24) with the nine-year-old brown mare Pogilicious.