IRISH Pony Club mounted games continued last weekend at Charleville with big crowds supporting their teams.

Taking the win in the U10s section was the Duhallow Branch from a field of 13 teams. The team of Kate Fitzgerald (Silver Spartagus), Olivia Tarrant (Sydney) Olivia Roche (Killard Wakita) and Kesha Harding (Scout) have been together for the last two years. It was neck and neck but, in the end, they took the win, finishing up one point ahead of Galway with the Wexford Wildcats in third.

The Meath Hunt Pony Club continued their good show of form in the U10s, junior and senior team divisions. Their junior squad, which comprised a Meath/Laois combination team, included Lucy Whelan from Laois (Ned), Grace Mangan of Meath (Honey), Edward Feehan from Laois (Dash) and Tom Murray of Meath on Firefly. The team also includes Rosita Dunne who rides very sweetly at only nine years old.

This junior team’s very first run out together last week at Gorey resulted in a narrow defeat for the top slot by just one point. However, there was no stopping them this weekend as they secured a very well-deserved first place.

Down to the wire

The senior competition went down to the wire with just four points separating the top-placed teams. This second RDS qualifier competition saw current RDS/Leonard Cup Champions, the Meath Hunt Pony Club senior team, secure the Charleville Cup on a total of 138 points. Notably, this team also took back the coveted O’Meara Cup for a second year in a row last weekend at Gorey. The last two wins for this dream team, led by Mark Crowe, means that they have now scored a valuable 20 points in the competition for the RDS out of a potential pot of 40 points. The 2023 team comprises Jack Mangan (Sprite), Harriet Mangan (Scooby), Daniel Callery (Cruise), Sadhbh Monaghan (Storm) and Lauren Callery (Casanova).

This competition went down to the wire where a run-out was required to decide second place between Shillelagh and Carlow who finished on 136 points. In the end, Shillelagh took second place.

The next exciting round will take place in Laois this weekend.