FINDING yourself bereft of conversation at the office water cooler? How about a running commentary on July’s weather, with the added challenge of naming all the varieties of rain the month has offered. Rather like Bubba’s catalogue of shrimp varieties in Forrest Gump, our categories would include the following:

Grand soft rain - When despite your resentment and grumblings, you know it is doing the ground good.

Thumping downpours – Following your decision to turn horses out “in the nude” (the horses that is, and not their handlers), God took a rather over-sized bath. Fortunately, these downpours rarely last more than a few minutes and can be pre-empted with an occasional glance at the sky.

Drizzle - Midsummer’s reliable bedfellow and provider extraordinaire for the country’s fly population, who exalt in the associated humidity. This is a brand of rain employing brain over brawn, as it nibbles away at our souls.

While gently hitting your head against that brick wall and bemoaning this soggy month, do remember that the good times will come again. Fear not, you will again have the opportunity to complain about the heat, hard ground, lack of ventilation in your office, queues at the ice-cream counter, and you will be afforded the occasion to say: “Sure, we could do with a bit of rain!” Whether you like it or not, Ireland without the rain would be like bread without butter.

The good people of Ballindenisk are currently paying their debt to the weather as they reflect on a smoothly run and well-attended National Championships that benefited greatly from some super ground conditions.

National by name and national by nature, the cross-country track asked some real questions across the levels, with due respect paid to the championship element of the competition title. This was not a place for first-timers.

As promised, Ballindenisk provided much in the way of entertainment, with music in the bar and a superb offering of dishes in the restaurant, no tastes were left unattended.

I had a weekend of mixed fortunes, in particular in the CNC * class. I ran four six-year-olds in this class, with two of them just showing their greenness when pitted against the strong demands of the section. However, I have no doubt that a few more miles on the clock will see these horses excel at next year’s championship. My remaining two horses in this section performed gallantly, with Fortmoy Cushla placing third and Enniskerry Foxtrot taking fifth place.

BLM Diamond Delux (Murphy) returned to the eventing frontline, with a very promising performance in the CNC*** competition. Murphy led the dressage phase with a score of 43.6 and further secured the lead with a clear round show jumping.

Unfortunately, some fitness-associated time faults in the cross-country phase later knocked us from the top perch, and we eventually traded red for blue. Congratulations

to Jayne Doherty on her three-star win with The Only One and on her admirable performance throughout the class.

Overall, I am delighted with Murphy’s display of form. The weekend afforded me further insight to the small gaps that need addressing, as well as restoring him to the very top levels of international competition.

As you scan this week’s horsey headlines, the final leg of this year’s Young Event Horse Series (YES) will have taken place in Dollanstown Stud. As in previous years, this showcase for prodigious eventing talent ran very well so huge congratulations are due to all those involved in its organisation. Despite some small alterations to the running format, the integrity and the essence of the competition remain suitably untouched.

I campaigned three horses in this year’s YES qualifiers and, happily, have secured a place for each at next month’s final in the RDS. In the past, Dublin has proven a happy hunting ground for the Kehoe family and we hope that this year will be no different. Two horses will compete under the Westwinds banner; Westwinds Navigator in the four-year-old class and Westwinds Mackenzie in the five-year-old class.

Another exciting prospect for this year’s five-year-old final is Sugar Bunnie (Porsch x Sugar Cube), a full-sister to Sugar Brown Babe (Baby); a horse to whom I owe so much. Her owners Miriam and Jim Cunning are already up to high doe with excitement, and we are all so pleased to continue Baby’s legacy on these shores.

TEAM IRELAND

Finally, for some Team Ireland news. Ian Woodhead and Captain Gerry Flynn were recently announced as Team Ireland’s dressage and show jumping coaches respectively. As the trainer of choice for myself and several other squad members, Ian comes to the role already armed with the existing knowledge of us as both riders and students.

While certainly less familiar with our individual riding styles, I have no doubt that Comdt. Gerry Flynn will in time amass the intricacies of us riders and our horses, thus further empowering Team Ireland’s Olympic preparation.

And so, we find ourselves at the final paragraph and at the parting one for my column in The Irish Field. Telling you all the story of my life and of my horses has proven immensely cathartic. Indeed, otherwise hair-tearing misdemeanors appear almost chuckle-worthy when committed to paper.

Thank you all for your words of encouragement during my stint as guest columnist in Irish Horse World. I can only hope that you enjoyed reading the columns as much as I did writing them.

Remember, anything worth doing is worth doing well.

Sarah Ennis is an international event rider based in Co Meath where she and her husband Niki run Stellor Sport Horses