THE Eastern Region of Dressage Ireland held a show last Sunday at its usual venue of Marlton Stud, where Emma Stephenson recorded a cross-grade double before Sarah-Jane Doyle (List 5) on her Connemara gelding Gurteen Danny.

The Waterford rider and her six-year-old Tullaree Tomahawk grey recorded a very comfortable victory in the 10-runner Preliminary DI5A on 74.82% then, on 68.28, shared the honours in the Novice DI21 with Skyla Nally and the unregistered Jaxlexi, an 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare by Jack Of Diamonds.

Stephenson, who used to be involved with thoroughbreds but finds producing Connemaras easier to mix with her job as an auditor at PWC, plans to move up through the DI grades with the 15.2hh Gurteen Danny, who she purchased as an unbroken three-year-old.

She also hopes to qualify for the younger Connemara performance hunter championship at the RDS next year, the combination narrowly failing to make the starting line-up for this year’s show, finishing third at two qualifiers.

There were 10 starters also in the Preliminary DI6, where topping Doyle’s overall scoreboard on 69.81% was Co Wicklow’s Avril Kelly with another Connemara, Kinamara Laura, a 10-year-old dun mare by Cashelbay Chip.

The same judge’s winner of the five-runner Novice DI27A was another Co Wicklow resident with another Connemara, Sophie Orr and the nine-year-old Kays Moonlight mare Tirnaksea Starstruck (66.55).

Iris Walshe had mixed luck before Bernie Foley (List 1). She won both Advanced Medium classes, recording an uncontested victory on 63.53% in the DI90 on Leroy VZ and then partnering the Dutch-bred gelding, an eight-year-old brown son of Hennessy, to see off one rival in the FEI Junior test when scoring 64.26.

In the Medium DI65, Walshe had to settle for second on Nirvana RH (65.31%) behind Roisin Winters with her Hanoverian gelding Rossini (66.56), a 10-year-old chesnut by Rossolini, who was having his first DI start since the end of July. In the Medium DI77, Walshe retired Nirvana RH, leaving the way clear for Sara Wood to win with her part-bred Connemara gelding Avalon Next Generation (63.71%), an eight-year-old bay by Glencarrig Joe.

Foley also judged the two Elementary classes, where her leaderboards were topped by Sallyann Langan on her traditionally-bred ISH gelding Campaign Dancer (68.61% in the DI52), an eight-year-old bay by Campaign Swing, and Deirdre Byrne with her Oldenburg mare Fraulein Frizzi (69.26 in the BD53).

The sole starter in the Prix St George was Jennifer Egan on her 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Gabriel-Tetti (64.85).