Margie McLoone

SINCE arriving over from England, Stacey Watling has impressed as a rider of young horses and, although first involved with show jumpers, she is now firmly ensconced as event stable jockey at Peter Smyth’s yard near Victoria Bridge.

However, it was an older horse who provided the Newcastle native with her first Eventing Ireland success at Glenpatrick on Saturday when Colm Doherty’s homebred Magheradrummond Lad, an 11-year-old by Zero Watt, landed the EI 100 class on his dressage score of 30 penalties.

Smyth brought the bay gelding up to Grade A level, competing in 1.35m classes until the end of July last year, after which he made his eventing debut at the beginning of September at Scarvagh House. Magheradrummond Lad is the second of 10 foals recorded on CapallOir out of the Irish Draught mare Dromkeen Carol (by Holycross) who has younger produce by Ramiro B (three) and Sir Shutterfly (two).

Luke Drea, one of the few southern riders at the event, finished second with Una O’Gorman’s homebred six-year-old Passion mare Ballylinan Black Beauty (31.5), with Joseph Murphy slotting into third on Britt Megahey’s Womanizer five-year-old Cornascriebe Glenpatrick whose total of 31.5 included 3.2 cross-country time penalties.

Only eight of the 33 starters show jumped clear in this class including the newcomer Prusselstown Master, another five-year-old by the Dutch Warmblood Womanizer, who led following Martina McKinley’s judging of the dressage phase. Unfortunately, the brown gelding, who is highly-regarded by rider Sarah Ennis, was one of those who had to be re-presented to the hayrack at 12.

An excellent weekend for Emma Jackson started at Glenpatrick where the lovely Aaroch, after a mixed campaign in young event horse company and a fourth-place finish in his working hunter class at Dublin, got his eventing career off to the perfect start in the EI 90 class.

Although the four-year-old Lougherne Cashell gelding had a fence down show jumping, he completed on a score of 23.5, almost four points clear of the similarly-aged King Of Mourne gelding Tullymurry Greyjoy (27.3) one of just four starters in the 17-strong class to record double clears.

Both greys, the winner, who landed the four-year-old event horse class at Balmoral in May, was bred in Co Tyrone by Ken Thompson out of the Silver Jasper mare Maypool Silver Seal while the David O’Connor-partnered runner-up was bred by Marian Turley out of her Householder mare Tullymurry Tammy.

Two cross-country time penalties saw Gemma Goodrich finish third (27.5) with the newcomer Miss Clover Rock, a five-year-old Captain Clover bay. The highest-placed mare, she is out of an unraced Rock Hopper half-sister to, among others, the five-time winner Malek (who was listed-placed over fences) and Pharaway Stream whose son Whitmore Way finished sixth on his intermediate debut at Tatteralls on Sunday.

With so many riders competing at The Pony Club championships in Cheshire over the weekend, the pony classes here were poorly supported.

Only three started in the EI 100P class won by Ava Banahan and the nine-year-old bay gelding Its Shoe Time while Ellie Parkhill and Two Tone Toni, dropping down a grade from the previous weekend, just had to see off six rivals to land the EI90P class on their winning dressage score of 30 penalties.