THE inaugural running of the Junior/Young Rider event horse championship proved very popular during the qualification stages and last week’s final in Dublin proved an excellent competition.

Fourteen of the 16 starters completed the fifth stage in the Main Arena with the final points ranging from 81.6 marks (out of 100) down to 56.5. Just one rider amassed over 80 marks and that was Ireland’s Junior European show jumping champion, Kate Derwin, who finished first and second on two horses owned by Kilkenny’s Carol Gee.

These were the five-year-old Cobra mare Fernhill Cruiseaway (81.6) and the year older Sligo Candy Boy gelding Fernhill Candy Crush (80.2), both of whom qualified first time out when fourth and second respectively at Scarteen.

The winner that day in early June was Ardagh Epic who finished third (78.9) in the championship final under speech and language therapist Alice Whyte.

Ardagh Epic, a seven-year-old Mohill Cavalier Clover mare who was home-bred by Whyte’s father Tom, won Wednesday evening’s conformation phase (8 out of 10) in Ring 2 but scored poorly in the show jumping phase. However, she picked up all 45 points when recording a clear round the following morning in the Main Arena, as did Fernhill Cruiseaway and Fernhill Candy Crush.

Among others to jump clear was Whyte’s cousin Edel who finished fourth with Frank and Paula Cullen’s home-bred Paulank Bella Pineta (78.5).

On Sunday, the Whytes recorded double clears to help Mosstown win the Horseware/AIRC team show jumping championship. Alice again rode Ardagh Epic but Edel, who is studying product design at Maynooth, changed to Abel Star.

Loughrea’s Hannah Phillips, who lost a point for time on Thursday, took fifth-place prize money with her father Michael’s Shannondale Sarco St Ghyvan mare Ballyvaden Maybe (78.3). This meant that mares filled four of the top five placings.

On Wednesday, Bessbrook’s Lucy McIlroy won the ridden display phase with Imperial Black Pearl (11.2 out of 15) and Conor Leahy, who had two mounts in the final, topped the show jumping scores (10.8 out of 15) with Riona Finn’s seven-year-old Orestus gelding The Kiwi.

On a three-phase total of 26.5, Leahy finished day one in second place behind Derwin on Fernhill Cruiseaway (26.8) but dropped out of the placings with a fence down in the Main Arena.

Derwin’s clear round with Fernhill Candy Crush saw the six-year-old gelding receive the top marks (11.5) for suitability and potential on day two from judges Chris Hunnable, Ruth Edge and Elmar Lesch but, after all marks were taken into account, the bay had to give best to his stable-companion.

Bred in Kilmacthomas by John Flynn, Fernhill Cruiseaway is out of the Cruising mare Kingsaway Cruise who is a half-sister to the five-star show jumper Heracross (by Ramiro B), out of the Clover Hill mare Kingsway Clover.

Derwin (17), who plans to combine working with horses and studying part time, was delighted with the track in the Main Arena. She thought the fences compared well to an actual event but felt that the first horse in should have been given more time to adjust to the surroundings.