HSI Showing classes \ Margie McLoone

ANVIL’s Aileen Dwyer and her unraced thoroughbred Vanity Flare enjoyed a near perfect weekend at the Association of Irish Riding Clubs’ two-day Festival at the Mullingar Equestrian Centre and totally dominated the Horse Sport Ireland showing section last Saturday.

The combination started off by winning their large riding horse class in Ring 3, going through to championship along with the second-placed pairing of Killegar’s Suzanne Kenny and her Irish Sport Horse mare Ardmount Rio, a 15-year-old home-bred bay by Friend.

The preceding ‘small’ class was won by Lisduff’s Olivia Connolly and the traditionally-bred ISH mare Barronstown Poppy, a 16-year-old bay daughter of Van Dantzig, with Tara Hill’s Miia Ruuskanen finishing second on Bobby Cool. When it came to the riding horse championship, Vanity Flare was awarded the tricoloured sash with the judges opting to have Bobby Cool, another thoroughbred, as their reserve.

That seven-year-old Alhebayeb gelding is owned by his breeder, Tara Hill member Liisa Rantamaki, whose colours he carried on the track when trained by Andrew McNamara. Following seven unsuccessful outings, both on the flat and over hurdles between May and October 2019, he was retired to pursue a career outside racing.

Ruuskanen came over to Robinstown in Co Meath to work for fellow Finland native Rantamaki in October 2020 and the pair now share the ride on Bobby Cool. The owner/breeder hopes to qualify him for Dressage Ireland’s national championships here at Mullingar in September; she also competes Bobby Cool in racehorse to riding horse classes. “That was my very first time to ride in a showing class so I was absolutely delighted with the result,” said Ruuskanen.

Vanity Flare’s next assignment was the Ring 3 championship where among those the eight-year-old mare and Dwyer faced were the hunter class winners Brooke Lodge’s Kim McCann and her 2005 home-bred Harlequin du Carel mare Bray Summer Breeze (heavyweight), Drynam’s Louise Kavanagh and Fred Showtime (mediumweight), her 2013 Irish Draught gelding by Fintan Himself, and Calliaghstown’s Tracey McDermott and another ID gelding, the six-year-old Beechmore Silver Crest bay, Burgage Silvercrest (lightweight).

Also through to the ring championship were the small hunter class winners, Mosstown’s Anne Nixon and Its Miller Time while the Drynam Club was represented by a second combination, Sophie Marks and yet another ID, her home-bred Lilys Lucky Penny. While Marks and her Scrapman mare were to have a better day on Sunday, Nixon and Its Miller Time were beckoned into the reserve championship slot before Dwyer and Vanity Flare took the title.

“It was a super Festival!” enthused Nixon who also won the RC80 performance hunter class on Saturday. “Last year was a bit strange as we came out of Covid but the atmosphere at the weekend was a lot better.

“I bought Its Miller Time seven years ago for my daughter, Leila Oakman, to ride in Intermediate working hunter classes and, as I groom for her in those, she grooms for me at the Festival! We were supreme champions in 2019 and last year won our small working hunter class. Leila is doing the small hunter class and the workers with him on Sunday (tomorrow) at the show in Athlone.”

Its Miller Time, whose first appearance at the Festival in 2012 was under Vincent Holian, was bred in Co Longford by Debbie Redahan. The 15-year-old grey ISH gelding is by the Connemara stallion Prince Of Thieves out of the Aran Flight mare Aran Lia.

Having seen off all rivals in Ring 3, Dwyer and Vanity Flare’s next assignment was the supreme ridden championship for the Carl Geisler memorial trophy and they recorded a clean sweep when taking this title ahead of the Ring 2 champions, Joy Murray and her lightweight cob, Bee Smooth.

Dwyer, who is now back home at her family’s beef and tillage farm in Co Offaly, is a customer care executive with Agrihealth, the owners of Mackey among other brands. She purchased Vanity Flare from her breeders, trainer Liam Cusack and his wife Jane Tiffin, during Covid and the 2015 Robin Des Pres bay was shown six times last year.

“I was absolutely delighted with my mare over what was a cracking weekend,” said Dwyer. “And I’m not just talking about the results as on Saturday she was ridden multiple times by the judges – between her class, the ring championship and the supreme – and didn’t spit out the dummy. Last year, we were second in the large riding horse class at the Tattersalls July Show, which was a Royal International Horse Show qualifier, and I’m targeting that again this season along with the Treo Eile pathway series.”

Vanity Flare is out of the point-to-point-winning Toulon mare Diesel Dancer who is dam also of the eight-time winner Captain Redbeard (by Bach).