Amateur championships

ONLY one rider retained their title at last weekend’s Eventing Ireland national championships at Kilguilkey House and that was Co Meath’s Sadhbh McGrath.

Riding her mother Emer’s Chacoa gelding Bridgemans Cocoa Malt, McGrath landed the EI110 Amateur Championship where she completed on the dressage score (29.3) she was awarded by Britain’s Les Smith (C) and Ireland’s Bernie Foley (E).

So too did Sharon Power who finished reserve Champion on SBS Freelance (33.2) who, the rider said, was at her best over the weekend. However, they were the only ones to remain unpenalised after dressage with the jumping phases taking their toll.

The leaders after phase one were Lorraine Kennedy on Major Furisto (28.2) but the 15-year-old Garrison Royal gelding lowered two poles to eventually finish third. There was one elimination for a rider fall in the show jumping ring and one for a similar reason across the country.

The main problem fence was fence 10ab, the Equireel offset brushes, where four combinations received 20 jumping penalties. One of this quartet was McGrath’s sister Ailbhe riding Tredstep Renaissance Man who had been on a score of 32.8.

Sadhbh (25), who works part-time with a law firm while studying full-time for a Ph.D at Trinity, has been eventing Bridgemans Cocoa Malt since her days as a member of the Ward Union Pony Club. That now 12-year-old grey, who represented the Irish Sport Horse studbook at Le Lion d’Angers in 2013, was bred in Co Kerry by Brendan O’Shea out of the Maltstriker mare Mollys Diamondstrike.

“This win is down to Team McGrath,” said the delighted rider who referred to her mount as a ‘superstar’. “My father Pearse and brother Conall couldn’t come down for the weekend as they are bringing in all our hay and straw for the winter, while Ailbhe, who is a primary school teacher, is the chief organiser over the summer, doing the entries, making sure everything is in the lorry, etc. My mother Emer is an unpaid groom who lunges and hacks the horses for us when we are at work!”

For the second year in a row, Rebecca O’Toole went home with a title to her credit. Last September she won the EI90 Amateur title with Glenedens Lancealittle but, on this occasion, it was the EI100 Amateur crown which went the way of the Dublin pharmacist and her 10-year-old Lancelot mare who was bred in Co Galway by Mary Naughton out of Diamond Malt (by Maltstriker).

As they compete at Advanced Medium level with Dressage Ireland, it wasn’t surprising to see the pair comfortably top the scores of Britain’s Richard Baldwin (C) and Ireland’s Joan Ahern (E) and they went on to complete on that mark (22.4) with last year’s champions, Holly McClenaghan and Blacklaw Pelorus (27.8), having to settle for the reserve spot on Sunday.

The jumping phases didn’t have too much of an effect at this level with the majority jumping clear in the sand arena. One combination was eliminated across the country for multiple refusals and five others picked up jumping penalties around the course.

Fourth in the EI110 Amateur division on Udo, Natasha Brotherton recorded an all-the-way success in the EI90 Amateur Championship on her new ride for this season, Padraig Ina Sheasamh who was awarded a winning penalty score of 28.3 by Britain’s Sue Stewart and Ireland’s Derval Diamond.

Luckily, two errors in her dressage test didn’t affect the finishing position of the reserve, Tanya Lock with Rathcline Moonlight Girl (30.4) although a fence down show jumping saw Katie Duggan finish third on the four-year-old Watermill Warrior (33.4).

Neither jumping phase really caused problems although there was one retirement across the country and one combination had a refusal on course.

Padraig Ina Sheasamh is a five-year-old Harlequin du Carel gelding who was bred in Co Tipperary by James Ryan out of the White Clover mare Golden Church Girl. According to the chesnut’s delighted owner/rider, “he was taking strides out to beat the band and almost unseated me with an overzealous leap into the first water (a run-in)!”

This championship success came after just the requisite three qualifying runs.