TWO riders, who won at Tubberbride the previous weekend, landed the same classes at the Milchem Equestrian Centre last Saturday, when the Western Region of Eventing Ireland staged the third qualifying round of its Berts Properties starter series.

At the Co Mayo venue, Luke Corcoran won the Sligo Candy Boy four-year-old class on the Zangersheide gelding Capital-K Van Kattenheye Z, who turned out again on Saturday. The son of Comme D Api vd Hacienda led after dressage on 64.5 points, but lowered a pole and had to settle for second behind his stable companion, the Irish Sport Horse filly Logmore Jacandy (62.5), who left all the fences intact.

With his brother Adam, Crossmolina show jumper Corcoran purchased the winner privately in Co Mayo from Michael Barrett, who bred the chesnut daughter of Sligo Candy Boy out of the Jacomar mare Castle Jacomar. “Jacandy is as careful as a cat and she has all the blood and rideability you need for eventing or show jumping,” said the delighted rider of his winner.

Co Meath’s Caroline Lynch once again travelled west and once again won the Derryronane Stud five-year-old class, despite having a fence down with the ISH gelding DS Bouncer 007, who completed on 57 points.

Four jumping penalties were also picked up by the second-placed combination of Duncan McFadyen on Milchem Going Gold (53.1) and Godfrey Gibbons with DS Are You Murchu (52.5). Only three horses recorded a clear round, the highest-placed of these being the Declan Leahy-ridden Aille Copper (50.5).

Pony class

The Milchem Equestrian pony class, sponsored by the Western Region chairman Ralph Conroy, attracted 10 entries, half of whom completed on their dressage scores.

The win went to the Linnea Parker-ridden PSHBornthisway (61 points), a five-year-old mare by Shannondale Sarco St Ghyvan. Bred in Co Clare by John Troy, the chesnut is out of the Cougar mare Elysum Diamond. Katie Gibbons finished second on the 2019 Hans mare Killadoon Lady (60.4).

There were five entries, but just three starters, in the Treo Eile qualifier for thoroughbred horses and one of these, the previous week’s winner Tiger Twenty Two, was eliminated, while the other two jumped clear.

Claiming the honours on her dressage score of 58 points was Danish native Evita Thomsen on the former Ciaran Murphy-trained Black Field, who finished down the field in three runs over hurdles in the first half of 2023 and pulled up in another. The six-year-old brown son of Califet is out of the non-winning Amilynx mare Nightlynx, a half-sister to the multiple winner Publican and to the dam of another multiple winner in Clondaw Warrior.

A regular in these types of classes, Patricia Newman finished second with the 2014 Campaign Swing gelding Cry Of The Dreamer (51.3), who she herself rode in point-to-points and bumpers.