GIVEN the number of counter-attractions on Sunday, it was very encouraging to see such large entries at both the Eastern Region show in Marlton and the Midland and Western Region fixture at Iceford.

Five judges were required at Marlton where there were a lot of scores of 70% plus in the lower level classes. Michael Moore (List 2A) awarded his highest score of the day to Ava Kelly who topped the Preliminary DI18 with Peggy Ryan’s traditionally-bred Irish Sport Horse mare The Causey Girl (71.67%), a 12-year-old Rebel Mountain grey.

There were some very close scores in the second Preliminary class, the BD15 judged by Grainne Hallahan (List 6) where Kirsty Kirkwood ran out a narrow winner with another traditionally-bred grey ISH mare, her own Clover Brigade nine-year-old, Ballycapple Brigade Cruise (76.60%).

Mairin Cassidy (List 4) raised the bar slightly higher in the first of the Novice classes, the DI24A, where John Gavin initiated a personal treble and the first leg of a double on his home-bred five-year-old Contendro I gelding Holywell Contender (76.67%). In the Novice BD23, Ann Glynn (List 3) awarded her highest score of the day (71.25) to local rider Rosie Coad and the unregistered Blackhall Summer, her mother Carol’s 16-year-old Connemara mare by Canal Laura’s Boy.

Cassidy also judged the Elementary BD57 where five Category 2 riders achieved a 70% plus score. Here, Gavin climbed to the top of the leaderboard with ISH gelding Holywell Spark, a seven-year-old Cobra gelding bred in Co Tipperary by Jacinta O’Donoghue out of her Contendor mare Oneforthenotebook.

Majestic

Dermot Cannon (List 1) wasn’t as flaithiúlach (generous!) as the other judges when it came to assessing the higher level classes and, in the regular competitions, his top score was the 69.12% he awarded in the second of the Medium classes, the BD73, to Gilly Crawford on Veronica Agnew’s home-bred ISH mare Majestic Heartbreaker. This seven-year-old Womanizer bay is out of the Mr Majestic mare Flojo.

Only two combinations came before Cannon in the five-year-old test where his 76% score saw John Gavin bring up his treble on his Novice winner, Holywell Contender. There was just the one forward in the six-year-old class where Cannon thought enough of the performance of Andrea Colfer on her chesnut part-Welsh gelding Hayleemma Lady’s Blue Eyed Boy to award them 70%.

Iceford

Danielle Carey (List 4) was obviously feeling generous at Iceford as she awarded a few high scores during the day including the 79.50% mark on which Cassandra Morris won the Novice DI24A with her Dutch Warmblood gelding Lots Of Joy. Carey also judged the second Novice class (DI27A) and here, again, she had Morris and her seven-year-old dark brown son of Negro at the top of her leaderboard on 74.14.

Lizzy Naughton recorded uncontested victories in the Carey-judged Elementary classes with her ISH gelding Andyanderson, a 14-year-old bay by Bahrain Cruise. Sadhbh O’Toole was the sole rider to come before the same judge in the five-year-old class where she earned a score of 81.20% on board her Dutch Warmblood gelding Next Diamond, a bay by Daily Diamond out of the Kennedy mare Vajda.

Helen Nolan (List 5), who mainly concentrated on the Trailblazers’ section, judged the second of the Preliminary classes (the DI18) where her winner was Category 1 rider Petra Hewer and her ISH mare MCLC Miss Moneypenny (69.38%), a nine-year-old bay by Tolan R. Bred in Co Tyrone by Martin Conway, this winner is out of the Jacomar mare Three Times A Lady.

There are two DI-affiliated shows on this weekend. The South Munster Region is back running solo today at Skevanish while tomorrow the Leinster Region is staging the second leg of its Ark Equine autumn/winter league at Greenogue.