THE Northern Region got the Eventing Ireland season underway last Saturday with the first of four one-day events at Tyrella where Lightsource BP has come on board as title sponsor for five years.

This opening event attracted an entry of 306, split into 17 classes over four levels. Some officials were on site from very early in the morning but, even so, it was definitely time for a sundowner when the last rider out on the cross-country course, Lucca Stubington, came through the finish with Xanthe Green.

As the clocks go forward this weekend, there should be no issue of disappearing daylight at Lightsource Tyrella (2) on Saturday next, April 6th. Hopefully, the going then will be on a par with last Saturday when everyone praised the ground.

The Region recently completed a six-year deal with landowner David Corbett on running events at the Co Down seaside venue and, while the cross-country tracks are now restricted to the land on the Ballykinler side of the avenue, it does mean that money can be invested into building new fences and generally tidying up the estate. The old barn near the dunes area is slowly being deconstructed.

While the new water fence in the same area is not what this writer envisaged, it was well-used on Saturday when tackled as fence eight ab on all four tracks. The large water splash, which fills naturally, was surrounded by new wooden boxes of all heights and widths which can be moved to increase the level of difficulty each week.

There were a couple of hold-ups for falls but the fences caused few problems with most eliminations being for missing out a fence or jumping an incorrect obstacle – this in spite of four separate tracks which were numbered in advance.

PERFECT START

Selection for the Young Riders’ European championships in July is very much the seasonal target for Stephanie Stammschroer but she got her campaign off to a perfect early start when landing the 26-runner EI115 (Open) with her mother Paula’s Master Swatch.

The 19-year-old Co Meath rider, who completed on her David Lee-awarded dressage score (27.5), has decided that college life is not for her and is riding out three mornings a week for Gavin Cromwell who sent out J.P. McManus’s Espoir D’Allen to win the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.

“I was delighted with Swatch as he really did it well,” said Stammschroer who has room at home to take on a couple of outside horses. “When I saw what a high-class entry there was I thought I’d be lucky to be placed – never mind win. It was a great start to the season. I was happy that the cross-country course wasn’t too long for a first outing.”

Bandon-based Michael Ryan ended his 2018 campaign in the CCI2* class at Le Lion d’Angers and partnered both of his mounts from the French young horse championships in Saturday’s EI115 class where Barnahown Corn Hill (41.9) won while Briarhill Marco placed fourth (44.9). The latter finished just behind another stable-companion, TR Kaygraff (44.6), who recorded one of only two show jumping clears.

Carol and Tom Henry’s winner, an eight-year-old brown gelding by the thoroughbred Chinook Eclipse, was recording his first success under EI rules. For the record, Nicola Ennis finished second (43.9) on her 10-year-old Cruising Harry mare Dee Mac while the dressage winner Eva Melly (29.6) was eliminated when jumping the wrong fence 16 with Annaghmore Ardeo Beach.

Ryan was delighted that his journey north paid off so well and he had great praise for the ground and the fences although he think the intermediate track was unnecessarily twisty in places.