GREENVALE Transport sponsored the Area eventing hosted by the Iveagh Branch in Area 17 of The Pony Club (Northern Ireland) last Monday at Hazeldene Farm where, at this qualifier for The Pony Club championships in Offchurch Bury, Warwickshire, next month (August 11th to 19th), the East Downs won three of the four team competitions.

The Branch first struck in the PC100 where it was represented by the ‘We Sing’ quartet of Sarah Gilchrist, Raona Savage, Tom Rowlatt McCormick and James Murphy.

On board her father Daniel’s Irish Sport Horse gelding Hazeldene Mighty Max (37.3 penalties), an eight-year-old skewbald by Annaghmore Ginger, Gilchrist won the individual competition with Rowlatt-McCormick finishing second on his mother Fran’s home-bred Mon Ami Beauvallet (37.8). That six-year-old ISH gelding by Centre Stage finished 11 of 35 in the CCIYH2*-S at Millstreet where he was partnered by senior rider, Jonny Steele.

Riding Rickamore Quest, Sarah was also on the East Down We Roar foursome who won the PC90 team competition along with her sister Jennifer and the MacNabb girls, Cara and Ellen.

Jennifer finished second individually on the consistent Lackaghamore Vandango (35.6 penalties), a 13-year-old Avatar gelding on whom she had won the EI90 (P) at The Clare just two days earlier. Here, Lauren McGlennon claimed the honours for North Down on her mother Karen’s ISH gelding Ferros Kandy (30.4), an 11-year-old S Creevagh Ferro bay on whom she placed third of 26 in an EI90 here at Hazeldene Farm in early May.

The East Down team treble came up in the PC70, for riders aged 13 and under, thanks to the efforts of the Hinch Drumrolls quartet comprising Eilis Donnelly, Caoimhe Digney, Annabelle Gill and Izzy Napier. Gill fared best individually in third on Mo (29.8 penalties) although some way adrift of Maeve Rolton-McAuliffe of Fermanagh riding the 18-year-old palomino gelding Mission Ambition (18.5) and North Down’s Molly Reid on Little Me (19.8).

The only team competition which didn’t go the way of the East Down Branch was the PC80 where the Iveagh Skunks saw off the challenge of a dozen rivals to claim the honours. The successful quartet featured Pippa Moore, Jenna Morton, Sophia Madeley and Kirsten Bailie, the last three of whom had also won for the Iveaghs at the Area dressage on Saturday.

As she had done at Maddybenny Farm, Madeley won Section B of the individual competition with Bellindene Fagin (30.6 penalties), a 16-year-old bay gelding by Bellindene Franklyn, while Section A went to the Iveaghs’ Erica Ingram riding Goldengrove Royal Wedding (25.8).

Only two combinations contested the PC110 for the Chairman’s Cup where, despite four show jumping penalties, East Antrim’s Holly Ross followed up her Area dressage win on Star Of Hollymount (45.5 penalties), the 11-year-old dun gelding owned by her parents, Kevin and Anna. Seskinore’s Sophia Williams, who was clear show jumping but a lot slower across the country, finished second on the similarly-aged Ringfort Cruise mare Mongorry Cruise Molly (55.6).

Mid Antrim’s Hannah Thompson recorded an uncontested victory in the PC90 Open with her own traditionally-bred ISH gelding Jemeela Charm (34.6) on whom she finished second in the EI100 (Amateur) at Clonmahon House last month. East Antrim’s Grace Reid also posted an uncontested success in the PC70 for 14-year-olds and over on board the 19-year-old bay gelding Crumlin Boy (33.3).