HORSES and riders coped well with the windy and sometimes wet conditions, which pertained last Sunday at Garranemore, where the North Munster Region of Dressage Ireland staged the fourth leg of the Childeric autumn league.

The judges at the Co Limerick equestrian centre were Michael Moore (List 2A) and Paula Geiger (List 3) with the former commenting: “I thought the standard was very good and we learned that riders considered the judging to be positive.”

Moore assessed competitors in the highest-graded classes to those in the two Trailblazer competitions. He was most taken by Savvy (aka Savona), the mount of Sarah Slattery Madden, who, listed as unregistered, topped the leaderboard in the Advanced Medium qualifier (72.50%) and scored 72.05% in the Para Grade V Grand Prix A, where she was the sole starter.

Savvy, a 15-year-old Brandenburg mare by San Amour I, was bred in Germany out of Ebony (by Expo’se). Slattery started competing the dark bay in international Para classes in mid-June at Grote-Brogel, Belgium and, after a visit to Deurne in The Netherlands the following month, they represented Ireland at the European para dressage championships at Riesenbeck, Germany in September. For the record, Category 3 rider Bethany Mackey finished second in Sunday’s qualifier with her eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare Kalahari (68.97).

Kate Kerr Horan and her Danish Warmblood gelding Lykkebo’s Don Akino, an eight-year-old bay by Blue Hors Don Olymbrio, were the only combination to appear before Moore in the two Para Grade III FEI Grand Prix classes, scoring 71.50% in A and 71% in B, which was a league qualifier.

Moore also judged the five-runner Preliminary BD19, where Category 3 rider Tara Oliver Donohoe easily topped the overall leaderboard on her traditionally-bred Irish Sport Horse gelding Miracle Sun Shine (75%), a four-year-old by the Irish Draught stallion WRS Sun Shine. The bay was bred in Co Cork by Mary Carpenter out of the Ridgewood Ben mare How Do They Do It, who pulled up in her two point-to-point starts.

There was a duel for honours in the Moore-judged Novice BD23, where Holly Boles and Donie McNamara’s home-bred ISH mare Commanche Moll (73.57%) got the better of fellow Category 2 rivals Mary Kinsella and another ISH mare Fayte (72.71). The winner, a bay daughter of Waldo van Dungen is out of the non-winning Commanche Run mare Crisholm Trail.

Advanced Medium qualifier winners at Childeric were Savvy and Sarah Slattery Madden \ Justin Black Millstreet Photography

Elementary

Five riders appeared before Moore in the Elementary BD43, where the highest score was recorded by Category 2 rider Owen Smyth on his black Hanoverian gelding Dark Site (72.24%), a 19-year-old son of Don Frederico. It was back to a duel in the Medium qualifier (DI65), where Caroline Marwood claimed the honours with Hannah Rose’s Dutch Warmblood gelding Investigator P (68.13). The chesnut Diamant de Semilly 10-year-old has 81 Show Jumping Ireland points to his credit, but last jumped in an affiliated competition at the end of July 2022.

The Connemara gelding Oh Dakota Justice recorded some notable performances as a working hunter pony for the Williamson family, who also evented him throughout 2020. However, since late August this year, the 2011 Rebel Justice grey has started competing with Dressage Ireland and has now amassed 33 points under Ally Gabbett, who is riding for Eimear O’Donnell.

The combination earned 14 points on Sunday, half of these coming in the three-runner Trailblazers’ Under 12 competition, where Moore awarded them a score of 72.41%. They also picked up seven points in the Moore-assessed Trailblazers’ Junior Preliminary, where they were the only starters. Both competitions were qualifiers for the Childeric league.

Sophie Cusack and Dunguaire Mick won the AIRC Preliminary at Childeric \ Justin Black Millstreet Photography

Introductory

Two combinations appeared before Paula Geiger in the Introductory qualifier, where her higher score (72.94%) went to Abbie Shannon and the unregistered Arizona Gold, a British-bred 15-year-old gelding by Pickmere Mistral.

Geiger judged two Preliminary competitions. The first, a Childeric qualifier (DI8), saw Category 2 rider Sophia Mackey top the leaderboard with her Scottish Warmblood gelding Wagner V.U. (74.04), a 20-year-old bay by Ludwig. This combination doubled up in the Novice qualifier (DI27A), where they scored 70.86.

Sophie Cusack came out on top in the AIRC Preliminary in the 20x40 arena with her mother Orla’s unregistered Dunguaire Mick (71.09), a 10-year-old grey gelding by Banks Timber. This pairing had an excellent first season together, displaying the versatility of the Connemara on the showing scene, in arena eventing, Irish Pony Club eventing, affiliated show jumping and schools show jumping.

There were eight starters in the Elementary qualifier (DI55), where Geiger’s winner was Category 3 rider Melanie Mackey and her Dutch Warmblood mare Memilia, a well-related six-year-old daughter of Hennessy. Here, the aforementioned Owen Smyth and Dark Site finished second on 70.54.

The final of the Childeric league, which will be hosted by the South Munster Region, takes place next Saturday, December 2nd, at Ballindenisk. Entries close on Tuesday and all details can be found on the Dressage Ireland website.