THE result of the EI100 championship at the TRI Equestrian/Eventing Ireland Grassroots Championships held in Ballindenisk last weekend, was more or less decided by Marie Hennessy, who judged the dressage phase on Saturday.

Six of the 12 starters, and of the top seven finishers, completed on their flatwork marks, headed by Co Tipperary’s Tom Hayden and Tally-Ho Sport Horses’ Stillbrook Lizzie (24.8 penalties). Jane Fitzgerald finished second with Ballymurphy Hughie (25.8), just ahead of Bridget MacAuley riding Zena Rising (26.5). The two mares and the gelding are all traditional Irish Sport Horses.

A pole down show jumping and 0.4 of a cross-country time penalty proved slightly costly for Niamh O’Carroll, who finished sixth with Ballyneety Butlers Mistress (35.2). Caroline Lynch, who had been lying fourth after dressage on 27.8, dropped out of the reckoning when Quora glanced off the first element of the ‘Skip And a Jump’ at five. The Co Meath combination lost no time getting back on track.

Stillbrook Lizzie, who first competed under EI rules here at Ballindenisk in mid-June, was bred in Co Laois by David Wallis. The six-year-old grey mare is by the German thoroughbred Sirillio out of the Classic Vision mare Stillbrook Katie. She has been entered in the Traditional Irish Horse working hunter class at next month’s Dublin Horse Show and then will be aimed at the Michael Leonard CCI1* for five and six-year-old horses back at Ballindenisk in late September.

Ella Doddy won the four-runner EI100 open championship with the only double clear on her father John’s ISH gelding Herald Of Milltown (32 penalties), a 13-year-old by Puissance, who was previously competed at CC13*-S level by Louise Bloomer.

Discipline switch

There were five runners in both the Pony and Junior rider classes at this level. Co Tipperary’s Jonty Purcell claimed the EI100 (P) title when completing on his winning dressage score with his mother Melanie’s ISH mare FHS Felicity (28.3 penalties), a six-year-old dun by another German thoroughbred, Acambaro. Here, Co Kildare’s Phonsie Wardell won the turn-out prize with the Connemara gelding Kinamara Bright Star.

International youth dressage rider Maeve Deverell, who is in her first season competing with Eventing Ireland, recorded her third win when posting a pillar to post victory in the EI100 (J) Grassroots Championships on the ISH gelding Annaharvey Dunowen (21.5 penalties).

Owned by the rider’s father Sam and bred by her grandfather Henry Deverell, this Radolin 11-year-old and Maeve were members of the Irish team at the European children on horses dressage championships in Germany this time last year.