THE jumping phase of the second of the Dublin Horse Show working hunter pony qualifiers, which, in conjunction with the Irish Pony Society, was held last Wednesday week at Mullingar Equestrian, caused just as much trouble as the first at Sceilig in late May.

“The material in the fences would have been different, but they were set at the same height, with the same distances and same length of track,” said Johnny Kyle, course builder for all four qualifiers. “We had hoped to jump on grass, but the arena had been used a lot lately and, had it rained, I might have run out of ground if it cut up. It made sense to move to the sand in advance.

“The treble caused a lot of problems, but that’s mainly because riders in these classes are not used to jumping them; they seemed more worried about the second and third elements, forgetting they had to get over the first part first. They don’t have a treble in the starter stakes, but do have two doubles on their track. The offset double of railway gates also caused a bit of trouble,” concluded Kyle.

While it might have seemed a good idea to use the Equipe entry system, it wasn’t utilised to its full potential, as there was very little information on the ponies and no reference to owners or even their number in the class.

Comfortable win

Ten-year-old Nancy Lyons Teehan comfortably won the 133cm class with her mother Louise Lyons’ grey gelding Tybroughney Cloud (108.5), who finished 10 points clear of the second-placed, Katie Murphy-ridden Darth Vader (98.5). The winner, who is described as “a legend” by his owner, has also qualified for the starter stakes division under eight-year-old Robin Lyons Teehan.

“He is a fantastic, versatile pony that has given the girls so much confidence,” said Lyons. “He’s now 20, so we don’t over-compete him and mind him for the big days. I have known Cloud for over 15 years competing with many Waterford and Tipperary Pony Club children and am very grateful to Judy Quirke for gifting him to us.”

Representing the North Kilkenny Branch, Nancy and Robin were among the large entry for last weekend’s Overlander/Irish Pony Club national Minimus championships in Killossery.

As a very successful rider and producer of working hunter ponies and horses – as well as being an Olympic event rider, coach and racehorse trainer – I asked Louise for her opinion on this new working hunter pony qualification process for Dublin.

“I think qualifiers are a great idea as it really sets the standard high; there are very few clear rounds, but the good riders and ponies are coming through.

“What is wonderful is how popular the classes are – especially the starter stakes and the 143cm. It’s lovely seeing one good pony after another and I know our girls have really enjoyed competing in the qualifiers over a testing course that asks questions.

“I think it has opened the eyes of many competitors to what a test it is for a top working hunter pony, who needs to be brave, careful, obedient and mannerly, combined with having excellent flat work and correct conformation.

“Some tweaks need to be made with clarification of rules and I’m not sure it makes sense to have to complete a course again, having already received your qualifying rosette.”