WITH so many shows being held at present, it was only a matter of time before one fixture suffered badly and so it was with the third, and final, qualifying round of the Irish Pony Society’s Sports Pony Challenge which was held at Boswell last Sunday.

This year’s challenge is being used by the IPS’s working hunter committee as an aid to selecting a squad of 10 to represent Ireland at the European Working Hunter Pony Championships which take place in early August at the Scottish National Equestrian Centre in Ecclesmachan, West Lothian.

One imagines that those who did compete at Boswell did so to increase their chance of selection and one young rider who hopes to make the trip to Scotland, although the Europeans clash with the start of the Dublin Horse Show, is Oranmore’s Lara Field who won a pair of two-runner classes on Sunday.

Importantly, as she is in her last year of being eligible to ride at this height, 15-year-old Field claimed the honours in the 143cms class on her mother Marjorie Hardiman’s Creganna Kerfuffle (295 points). The grey Connemara won both jumping phases, as Ned Kelly finished second on the clear leader after dressage, his mother Lucy’s Rowdown Archer (290).

Home-bred by her owner, Creganna Kerfuffle is an eight-year-old mare by Silver Shadow out of Prospect Suzy (by Tulira Robuck). “Jane (Lara’s sister) was on the European team at Grantham in 2015 so it would be nice if Lara could also represent her country,” said Hardiman who didn’t attend Boswell on Sunday, instead paying a traditional visit to Corrandulla Show.

Lara travelled to Co Wicklow with her father Mark Field who also helped her prepare for the Novice class which she won on the Irish Sport Horse mare Creganna Milady, a six-year-old Koro d’Or half-sister to Creganna Kerfuffle. Having left for Boswell at 6am, the Fields arrived home at 7pm.

Ned Kelly got on the scoreboard when landing the 133cms class on his mother’s 13-year-old dun gelding Tinnecarrig Milo while younger brother Tristan won the combined training class with the nine-year-old British-bred gelding Litton Flashman.

The day’s other winners were Maggi Caffrey with Loughwell Bobby, a 17-year-old Currachmore Cashel gelding, in the Connemara class for riders under 16 and Rosie Coad with the Connemara mare Blackwell Summer, a 16-year-old daughter of Canal Laura’s Bell, in the 153cms class.

The final of this Sports Pony Challenge will take place on Tuesday, July 11th, at Killossery Lodge Stud.