BARNADOWN was also the venue for the Association of Irish Riding Clubs’ national dressage championships which, sponsored by Connolly’s Red Mills, took place on Sunday, August 7th, at the Co Wexford venue.

Combinations had to qualify through their regions for the national titles and, by a near 10-point margin, the featured team championship was claimed by the Thomastown And District Club who had won a very competitive South East Region qualifier at Danville House in June.

The winning quartet, who saw off 17 other teams at Barnadown, comprised Naomi Shairp (Krafty Harry), Aisling Brett (Annaveigh Mac), Jade Douglas (Carrigbeag Coco) and Daniela Cardillo Corr (Flight Of The Phoenix). Douglas and Cardillo Corr also won their respective RC Preliminary 2 and RC Preliminary 3 championships.

The RC Preliminary 1 championship was won by Dunbyrne’s Suzanne Conroy who posted the day’s highest percentage score over two tests riding her Irish Sport Horse mare The Lady Yeats, a 13-year-old daughter of Rosheen Yeats. By the same sire, the 11-year-old Irish Draught mare Grangefort Heather was partnered to victory in the RC Novice championship by Waterford’s Helen Alexander.

Tanya Lock, a member of the second-placed Clonough team, moved up from fourth individually in 2021 to win the RC Elementary championship on her nine-year-old Connemara mare Rathcline Moonlight Girl who she used to event at EI90 (Amateur) level.

During the year, this Moonlight Silver Shadow dun was competed under EI rules by Jasper Kelly who, from seven outings at EI100 (J) level, won three times and was placed on four occasions. They also placed fifth in the CCI1*-Intro at Millstreet in late August, three weeks after these AIRC championships.

Multi-talented

Two former international event horses filled the top two spots in the RC Medium championship under Tabitha Millar Hagerty.

The Twinfort member claimed the title on board the one-eyed Westeria Lane, the 2005 Rantis Diamond gelding on whom Co Meath’s Tony Kennedy represented Ireland at five-star level (Luhmühlen 2019), on three European Young Rider teams and on the senior team at the 2019 European championships, again in Luhmühlen, their last outing together.

Hagerty finished second on her 2021 champion, Tullineaskey Hi Ho. This now 20-year-old Ard Ohio gelding, who competed at three-star level when ridden by Patricia Ryan for Tom and Carol Henry, had his last eventing start at Chatsworth in 2016.

Westeria Lane competes at Medium level with Millar Hagerty under Dressage Ireland rules and there are many riders who are members of both DI and the AIRC, competing regularly with both organisations. As with DI, dressage training and clinics are popular with AIRC members at club and regional level.