IRELAND won the international Connemara performance hunter challenge for the third year in a row at the Dublin Horse Show last Sunday but, on this occasion, had to hold off two teams to do so.

The home quartet comprised Alicia Devlin Byrne with her Wednesday winner, Aidan Jones’s eight-year-old Ashfield Romeo stallion Block Blizzard (267 points), Emma Stuart on Hazel Valentine’s 11-year-old Gwennic de Goariva mare Secret Queenie (256), Caoimhe Curran on the family-owned Charlie Of Blakehill (265), a similarly-aged gelding by Coosheen Stormboy, and Eimear Murphy on her father Paddy’s 2011 Cashelbay Cruise gelding, Doire Mhainagh Robbie (256).

Although two riders amassed 256 points, as she was first on the list, Stuart’s score was discarded as Ireland completed on 788 compared to England’s 749.5 and Scotland’s 689. As usual, Lt Col Brian MacSweeney was chef d’equipe of the Irish team with Debbie Nickson, a Council member of the British Connemara Pony Society, filling the same role for the English squad.

A chance ride

Sue Gillingham was chef to the Scottish team which comprised four first-time competitors at the Dublin Horse Show. One of the quartet, Kirsty Aird, picked up a chance ride in the show hunter championships. She made two appearances in the Main Arena on Saturday morning and ended up riding into the reserve four-year-old championship spot on The Superior Choice. Ellie Callwood, a member of the England team, won Saturday’s working hunter pony championship with Ennis Boy.

The international challenge, which split the horse working hunter action in Ring 2, was judged by Judy Bradwell and Elmar Lesch. The visiting riders, supporters and ponies, were among a large contingent leaving Dublin to head west to Clifden for the week.