THE 2024 Dressage Ireland season commenced on Sunday, January 7th, when the North Munster Region staged a show at Clonshire, where judges, riders and volunteers had to contend with cold and foggy conditions. There were a lot of withdrawals during the day.

The best supported class numerically was the Preliminary DI5A in the short arena, where 15 combinations came before Paula Geiger (List 3). Topping her scoreboard on a mark of 67.68% was Kate Murphy riding the Connemara gelding Hollywood Chase Me Charlie.

This 11-year-old Murvey Ronan grey, who was bred by Deborah McCann out of the Moy Johnny’s Pride mare Sunny Dun, has 176 Showjumping Ireland points, competes successfully with the Irish Pony Society in working hunter company and in Irish Pony Club events, and has also competed in the RDS Connemara performance hunter championship finals. He has yet to be registered with DI.

In the long arena, all seven entries contested the Geiger-judged BD19, where the highest score (70.21%) was attained by Noirín Taylor riding her 21-year-old bay mare Attyrory Dixie. In the DI8, judged by Michael Moore (List 2A), Taylor and her cob had to settle for second (64.81) behind Clodagh O’Toole and the nine-year-old piebald mare Keadies Kaleigh (66.92).

Melanie Mackey and Memilia were first in the Elementary BD43 class at the North Munster Region show at Clonshire on January 7th \ Justin Black Millstreet Horse Photography

Back in action

Given the number of entries from outside the North Munster Region, it appeared riders were keen to get back into action and none more so than the Midlands and Western Region’s Aisling Deverell and her daughter Maeve.

The pair were the only starters from three entries in the Moore-judged Medium BD73, where Aisling fared the better on her Irish Sport Horse mare Annaharvey Firefly (71.32), an 11-year-old daughter of Floriscount, while Maeve had to settle for second on Derravaragh Bay (69.41). Aisling and her home-bred bay were the only ones to appear before Moore in the Advanced Medium DI90, where they were awarded a score of 63.06.

Maeve competed in three other classes. On 68.52%, she topped Geiger’s scores in the eight-runner Elementary DI51 riding Louise Doheny’s Belgium Warmblood mare Qarma Van Blommerschot, a 148cm brown 12-year-old by Nia Domo’s Bolero, on whom she finished off the pace (65.71) in the four-strong FEI pony team test. Here, the winner was Kate Murphy and her father Ronan’s Westphalian gelding Top Hero 2 (70.14), a 14-year-old Top Champy bay.

The riders finished in reverse order in the pony individual test, where Murphy again partnered Top Hero 2 (69.19%), but Deverell switched to her mother’s Derravaragh Boy (69.59), the 12-year-old roan gelding on whom she competed in the CDIP at Le Mans, France, last October.

In the day’s second Elementary class, the Moore-judged BD43, Melanie Mackey saw off two rivals to win on her Dutch Warmblood mare Memilia (67.59%), a seven-year-old by Hennessy.

Sue Smallman faced just one opponent, Marguerite Kavanagh on Danciano SR, in the FEI Prix St George and FEI Intermediate I which, in front of Michael Moore, she won on scores of 68.53% and 70.29 with her KWPN-registered gelding Gloriant H, a 13-year-old chesnut by Uphill.

At Novice level, all four entries met their engagement in the Geiger-judged DI27A, where the winner was Karen Burke and her traditionally-bred ISH mare Showtime Willow, an eight-year-old grey by Derg Showtime. Only half of the six entries faced Moore in the BD23, where the comfortable winner was Holly Boles and Donie McNamara’s home-bred ISH mare Commanche Moll (66.88%), a 14-year-old bay daughter of Waldo Van Dungen.

FEI Novice classes

There were uncontested victories for Para Grade 1 rider Clodagh Walsh who, riding Rosemary Gaffney’s 15-year-old Hanoverian mare Chantal 2 in front of Moore, scored 66.5% in the FEI Novice A and 67.86 in the FEI Novice B tests; and for Jessica Grogan in the FEI Junior individual (62.94) and team (64.55) tests with Christianson, Laura Hagger’s 18-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Briar.

The only competitor in the Geiger-judged Trailblazers’ section was Charlotte Collins, who won both the Mini (65%) and Under 12s (64.80) classes with the six-year-old chesnut mare Kilbreedy Coco. Only two of the six entries faced Geiger in the Intro B, where Jennifer Haverty claimed the honours with her 20-year-old ISH mare Greenlawn Paris (66.76).

Tomorrow, the South Munster Region holds the final of the Childeric Autumn League at Ballindenisk. This show was originally scheduled for Saturday, December 2nd, but had to be postponed as the arena was frozen. Fingers crossed, the fixture gets the go-ahead on this occasion.