THE East Antrim Branch of The Pony Club is on a roll when it comes to mounted games at present, as they won four of the five competitions at last Saturday’s Area 17 qualifier and, eight days earlier, the UMEX mounted games competition at Balmoral Show.

The Area qualifier was hosted at The Meadows by the North Derry Branch. The day kicked off with each team undergoing a stringent tack and turnout inspection, judged by Area Representative Fran Rowlatt McCormick. The standard was very high and Iveagh, with four grey ponies all turned out immaculately, were the victors.

The main event in recent years has been dominated by the Kenny Hamilton-trained team from East Antrim and, with a set of near-perfect scores, this proved to be the case once again.

Two of this team, Alice Jones and Leigh Graham, recently represented Northern Ireland at the Royal Windsor Horse Show and, that experience, along with excellent training, make them and their teammates, Hannah Kernohan, Amy Reid and Sarah Wilson, a force to be reckoned with. This was the quintet who won the Wilkinson Sword in the Main Arena on the Friday of Balmoral Show.

The second competition, for riders under 11, saw the same stringent tack inspection carried out, which this time was won by East Antrim. This was the first of the Branch’s two trophies at this level, as the team of C.J. O’Brien, Daniel Stewart, Hannah McCammond, Lucy Johnston and Leah Millar came out on top.

Thrills

The pairs’ competition was full of top speed thrills with East Antrim’s Alice Jones and Leigh Graham taking on – and beating – fellow Northern Ireland teammates Jack Cowan (Iveagh) and Holly Blythe (North Down). The East Antrim team (which includes the winning pair) are definitely travelling to the Northern Zones competition in Scotland in early July; it has yet to be decided if the Junior winners will make the journey across.

After a short lunch break, the afternoon session took place which, for many, is their favourite part of the day, as it caters for novice assisted and lead rein players. It was fantastic to see so many entries, which bodes well for the future of mounted games in Northern Ireland.

In the novice class, East Down were the worthy winners after a nail-biting tie-breaker against Mid Antrim, while the East Antrim Branch ended the day with another win in the lead rein competition. A massive thank you goes to Pauline Lusby Johnston and her team, as well as the Area 17 games committee, who made the day such a success.