ASHBROOK Riding Club held its annual Derby Day at Killossery Lodge Stud last Sunday when a mainly warm, dry day was punctuated by a couple of brief heavy showers in the late afternoon.

Rain in the days leading up to the show did have its effect on proceedings however as the organisers decided to move the Derby jumping from the grass field to the large outdoor sand arena at Killossery where the tracks were built by Frank Glynn, assisted by son Ciaran. Cheval member Laura Carrick (SJI national) was judge for the day.

The host club won three of the four higher graded competitions although Shauna Kidd’s victories in the 1m Open and the 1.10m Graded were uncontested. In the metre class Kidd rode her Irish Sport Horse mare Killossery Khaleesi, a Diamond Roller eight-year-old bred by Frank Glynn, while she claimed the 1.10m class on her 14-year-old grey gelding, Good News Scotty.

Two Ashbrook members were clear in the four-runner 90cms Open where the comprehensive winner, in 132.97 seconds, was Anne O’Dowd on her ISH gelding Until Proven Guilty, a 16-year-old son of Inocent. John Gavin finished second on his home-bred Holywell Contender (152.56), a five-year-old gelding by Contendro I.

Boyneside’s Val Ward was clear in 119.16 seconds to land the three-runner 1m Graded class on his veteran ISH mare Venture, a 21-year-old daughter of Aran. Here, West Leinster Region raider Abbie Walker, a member of Rathangan, finished second when also clear with her 15-year-old bay gelding, If Ever A Rogue (123.38).

The honours were more evenly divided among the lower graded classes although there was another success for Boyneside when Sarah O’Neill won the four-runner 80cms Open on her ISH mare Portduff May, a seven-year-old bay by OBOS Quality 004. The largest field of the day, 10, started in the 80cms Graded class where the fastest of three clear rounds was recorded by Border Counties’ Colleen Moffett riding her 13-year-old skewbald gelding Paw Prince.

Mullaghmore chair Stephen Tierney recorded the only clear round in the 70cms Open class on board his ISH mare Edenmore Lucky, a 17-year-old skewbald by Mr Bojangles; with four faults Ard Lú’s Marta McCloskey was the only finisher in the two-runner 70cms Graded on her veteran Irish Draught mare Ballytorehill, a chesnut 15-year-old by Corran Ginger; and Cheval’s Linda Manning won the 60cms Newcomers class, in which there were seven starters, on her 18-year-old piebald gelding, A Patchy Dream.

Jean Halpenny (Dressage Ireland List 3a) judged all the classes staged in the indoor arena where her winners were Choltraí’s Aoife McNicholl with Maggie Morrow (Walk/Trot Intro A), Cheval’s Geraldine Gaul on Shotgun George (RC P2, Graded), Cheval’s Gerry O’Byrne riding Donn Finn (RC P3, Open), Drynam’s Stacy Forsyth with Texas Surf (RC N Open) and Ashbrook’s Anne O’Dowd with Until Proven Guilty (RC E, Open).

Good weekend for Cheval

Cheval’s Sandra Hannigan had a very busy and successful extended weekend with her home-bred ISH gelding Yukon Cristo. On Friday, Hannigan partnered the Cristo bay to win the four-year-old hunter class at the Northern Ireland Festival in Cavan while, on Sunday at Killossery, they topped the final leaderboard in the Walk/Trot Intro B class judged outdoors by Bernie Webb (List 3a).

There were two other wins for Cheval through chair Nuala Stafford riding her Connemara gelding Michillin Óg (RC P1, Open) and Geraldine Farrell with Siscos Choice (RC P2, Open).

Others to win in front of Webb were Rathfarnham visitor Órlaith Cullen-Wallace on Dawn Light Cave (RC P1, Graded), Ashbrook’s Jayne Kidd on Disclosure (RC P3, Graded), Ashbrook’s Shauna Kidd with Good New Scotty (RC N, Graded) and Fingal’s Dayna Curtis riding Cillnabradden Cuig (RC E, Graded).

The show organisers were extremely appreciative of the sponsorship they received from Baileys Horse Feeds, REA Fitzgerald Chambers and MJ Accounting Ltd.

This was the first in a series of shows being hosted by clubs in the North East Region of the Association of Irish Riding Clubs from now until the end of August. The next two fixtures on the calendar are the regional show jumping qualifier back at Killossery on Sunday next, May 14th, followed, seven days later, by Ard Lú’s show at Piperstown.