HAVING disappointingly failed to get among the placings at the recent Dublin Horse Show, Julie Donaghy Simpson bounced back to win the Down Royal Corporation of Horsebreeders racehorse to riding horse championship final at Lessans summer show last Sunday.
The league is based on a combination’s three highest ridden scores during the season and, after the ride-off, Donaghy Simpson and her nine-year-old Olden Times gelding Shawstown were the clear-cut winners with three others finishing on the same score in second. With the highest ride score on the day, the reserve champion was adjudged as the eight-year-old Oratorio gelding Miller And Cook who was ridden by Donegal’s Oisin McCann.
In other classes, Anna McCarthy won the unraced section with The Red Racehorse (by Mister Fotis) ahead of Susie Morris on Loppy Lou (by Tajrassi). The retraining class went the way of Katie McIlhatton on the former James Lambe-trained Don’t Be Hasty (by Dubai Destination) with McCarthy finishing second here on the ex-Denis Cullen-trained Spanish Verse (by Lope De Vega).
In the day’s open ridden class, judges Dylan Huddleson and Michelle Kane changed the order of the championship with McCann and Miller And Cook here standing ahead of Donaghy Simpson and Shawstown. Grace-Ann Elliott was placed third with her eight-year-old Ad Valorem gelding Adsup with Co Louth’s Ruth Cody finishing fourth on Smokey Bay, an 11-year-old Definite Article gelding.
Best of luck to any of the above, and all others, competing in the racehorse to riding horse finals and classes at today’s Iverk Show in Co Kilkenny and to those who have travelled over to England for the RoR Goffs UK national championships at Aintree racecourse.
POINT-to-point fans will have to wait until the Mid Antrims open the 2019/2020 season at Toomebridge on Saturday, October 5th to get back to the sport. There will then be just four other fixtures to attend in the region during the autumn campaign.
The East Antrims race at Loughanmore on Saturday, October 26th and, while it might be a bit early to check out the ground, there will be an opportunity to do so next Saturday. The Northern Region of Eventing Ireland will be holding its annual event at the Dennison family’s venue which will be followed on the Sunday by a Go-As-You-Please.
A recent recruit to eventing, Zara Sharvin, a niece of trainer Brian Hamilton, made a winning debut at Tattersalls last Sunday when she won the EI90 class on the 15-year-old skewbald gelding Paintball. Also among the winners at the Co Meath event, at Junior level, was Rose De Montmorency.
Sam Hamilton, son of Brian, is listed for Area 17’s Home Championships at Lusk’s Equestrian Centre on Monday. Sam had his first pony racing winner recently, and has been studying his dressage test in advance of the Pony Club event where he will ride Cregcan Lady in the 75cm competition.