A WARM Reape family welcome awaited those who travelled west to Ard Chuain Equestrian Centre on a soggy Saturday for the second leg of the Equijump COH and Pony Spring Tour.

With live streaming on sjilive a new feature for 2024, many a granny and granddad were able to follow the action from the comfort of their living rooms at home, while the social media input from Epic Management is bringing a new accessibility to the sport.

The biggest entries that the venue has ever seen for a single day of jumping underlined the increasing popularity of this series and necessitated early starts in both arenas.

Action in Arena 1 kicked off at 8am with the COH/JU 1.10/1.20m class. The wild and windy weather did not deter the riders and it was Caoimhe O’Meara and Croghan Hill Ace, who came out on top of the opening class by a narrow margin from Emily McCabe and Charissma, followed by Eoghan Trainor and Marah in third.

Meanwhile in Arena 2, Caitie McEvoy did the double, taking first and second place with the ebullient Tynan Tuttle Pip followed by Tynan Petal. Ben Hawkins and Whistletown Blue Bell rounded out the podium in third. The podium presentations were a nice touch on the day, with the already soaked children enjoying a soaking of a different kind with their bottles of non-alcoholic bubbly.

The largest class of the day in Arena 1 was the 148 1.10m one-star class where Lucy McCarthy and Gorm followed up on their win two weeks ago in Cavan by doing a different kind of double, as they came out on top of a class of over 60 competitors. Ciara Cash and Giorgio Armani came second, with Olivia Kinsella and Toddy’s Lass finishing third.

Charlie Flynn and Knud van Orchid, pictured here in Hollypark, won the 138 1.10m two-star class at Ard Chuain \ Manestream Media

128 classes

The 128 90cm one-star class in Arena 2 saw Ellie Sheane come out on top with Chocolat II, followed by local girl, Katie McMunn and Moonflower, with Isibeal Conway Kelly in third with Ashwey El Britaniko. Ellie Sheane went on to do another double, when she won the 128 1m two-star class with her second pony, Newhaven Cooley. Katelyn Horgan took second place with Million Dollar Baby and Lucia Keane rounded out the top three with Ravara Mohawk.

A strong class of over 50 starters in the 148 1.20m two-star in Arena 1 saw the inclusion of an open water fence as an option, with many riders choosing to take the opportunity to school a fence that is rarely seen in Ireland, but has shattered many a dream internationally for Irish pony riders. There was another double here, this time with Connie McFadden, who took the top two steps of the podium with Infinity and Candy Floss respectively. This achievement is even more notable for the McFadden family, who have produced both ponies from the start. Jamie Clarke and MVS Carvelle took third, making it an all-Ulster Region podium.

Lucy McCarthy and Gorm, pictured at Cavan, won the 148 1.10m one-star class at Ard Chuain \ Laurence Dunne jumpinaction.net

138 classes

The 138 classes in Arena 2 saw the 138 1m one-star class go to Ronan Gilvarry and the indefatigable The Hilly Billy, who is still going strong at 24 years of age. Second place went to Henry Cullinane and Bishopscourt Lad, with Grace Geraghty and Ebony Jean in third making it an all-Connaught Region podium.

The 138 1.10m two-star class saw the final double of the day, with Charlie Flynn following up on his win two weeks ago in Cavan, this time taking first with Knud van Orchid’s and second with Western Oreo. Ella Rush and Shadow Dash took third place.

The final class of the day in Arena 1 was the 1.30m Viewing Class. The fact that 10 of the 25 combinations jumped a first round clear in this elite class, says something about the strength in depth in Irish pony show jumping at the moment. The win here went to Olivia Nell and Bungi. Senan Reape made use of his home advantage, jumping clear on all three of his mounts, and taking an eventual second place on Catness 8, with Jack Cash rounding off the final podium of the day with Quina van’t Gestelhof.

Thanks were heaped upon the Reape family, who run the canteen and arena party, as well as the rest of the team, who braved the inclement weather to make the day a success.