DUBLIN-based EI100 Amateur rider Suzanne Garrett may not have evented since the middle of July but she is preparing well in advance for the 2019 season by competing, and winning, on Dressage Ireland’s Eastern Region circuit with her Connemara gelding Ballinaguilkey Oyster.

Dog groomer Suzanne and her husband Kenneth, who works in IT and sticks to dressage with Moonlight Shadow, were both in action on Sunday at Marlton. There, Suzanne won one Novice class and was second in another with Ballinaguilkey Oyster, a 2010 Mirah’s Oyster Bandit gelding she purchased two years ago from his Co Carlow breeder, Barbara Walshe. The combination have competed at Preliminary level at DI’s winter finals for the past two years, finishing reserve champions back in early April.

However, the grey is not just good at dressage as he has qualified twice for the Connemara performance hunter championship at the Dublin Horse Show where he, and Suzanne, finished sixth last August, and in the small event horse class when exhibited by his breeder. “He’s a very genuine little horse who does his best to please,” stated Suzanne.

The Garretts live in Dublin and while this results in Suzanne having to travel just two miles to her Dogsbody Dog Grooming premises on Terenure Road West, it also means a 45 minute drive each evening down to Wicklow where she and Kenneth have their two competition horses and one retired animal on livery in Redcross.

“While it’s very handy for me to compete in Rosanna, it’s more difficult when an event is far away as we have to factor in the drive down to Redcross, and back home again, as well as the time taken to get to an event,” commented Garrett. “I try to stay within a max of two and a half hours’ driving which is why I didn’t go further than Tattersalls and Lisgarvan in the season just gone.”

It was also a restricted season of just five events as, once qualified for the RDS (which they did at Tullylish), Garrett was worried that something might happen Ballinaguilkey Oyster in the run-up to Dublin. The combination’s best result came when they were second, on their dressage score (27.3), at Killossery Lodge (2) to Tracey McKeown with Ardeo Chocolate (25.5).

Suzanne, who learned to ride with Betty Fahy at Greenhills and is now coached in all disciplines by Stephen Byrne, has been working as a dog groomer for 27 years. “It’s a very physical job and I am going to be flat out between now and Christmas,” said Garrett who was the first person in this country to be certified as a Master groomer.

“I particularly like grooming Poodles but the most satisfaction I get out of my job is sorting out dogs that have been neglected.”