THE Irish Pony Club/Connolly’s Red Mills eventing championships were staged last weekend at the popular Co Meath venue of Tattersalls Ireland.

The powerful Kildare Branch won the two team championships which were contested, Intermediate and Junior, but even they could only field two riders at Open level where there were just 15 individuals listed and not one team.

The winner, for the second year running, was the South Union’s Nicole Lynch. The 16-year-old, who heads back to Ashton School in Ballintemple next week, rode the nine-year-old Nigrasine mare Chasmarella who was saved from slaughter as a four-year-old.

Lynch has been riding the bay for the past four years. “When we got the mare first she had a lot of sarcoids and was afraid of people but we kept persevering with her and the sarcoids are now all gone,” commented the rider.

“We were leading our Junior class here in 2015 after the dressage and show jumping on a score of 20.6 but I did a circle on the cross-country and the 20 penalties knocked us right back,” said Lynch. “I told my mother that day that I would win the Open, which I did last year, and I’m thrilled now to have completed the double.

“I went straight from Juniors to Open as I did an Eventing Ireland one-star on the mare before qualifying began last year. I’m happy to do both Pony Club and Eventing Ireland events. There is a lot less pressure in the Pony Club, the people are lovely and it’s nice to be part of a club. The South Union is a great branch and I started with them in minimus.”

While Lynch hopes to have a career in horses, her parents Irene and Patrick have no connections with any form of equestrianism. “They are very supportive however and my mother is constantly driving me around the country! My brother Shane, who is younger than me, doesn’t ride as he prefers hurling, football and rugby, but my sister Rachel has just started Under 10s eventing.

“I’m coached in dressage by Joanne Jarden, in cross-country by Becca Dunlea and in show jumping by Robert Splaine. I’ve done two national two-star classes on the mare this year and would like to do another before the end of the season and then concentrate on the flat a bit before she’s let off for the winter.”

When asked to comment on the Eugene O’Neill-designed cross-country track at Tattersalls on Sunday, Lynch replied: “It seemed to cause a lot of problems as five people were eliminated and only five of us got home inside the time. It wasn’t very big but was very technical with a lot of twists and turns. It suited me and my horse!”

Show jumping in the reverse order of merit after cross-country certainly put pressure on those at the top of the leaderboard. Lying fourth on a score of 39, Mary Hogan, of the North Tipperary and Ormond Branch, had three fences down with Watervalley Preston and she was followed by Lynch who had just the one down with Chasmarella for a two-day total of 41.1.

The Westmeaths’ Emma Kennedy and Nauvoo, who were second in the members’ combined training class at Dublin, completed on a second-place score of 44.9 which included eight show jumping penalties. Disappointingly for Aveen O’Neill, who was in the lead on 36, she had a jumping phase best forgotten as the Tipperary Branch member dropped to sixth with Bouncing Chex having picked up 16 penalties on the final leg.

Lorna Murphy had no problem with the Raymond Jess-built show jumping course but the Co Limerick Branch member has earlier picked up eight cross-country time penalties to complete on 44.9 with Tiktok Copper. She did, however, finish third and, with double points on offer at the championships, went ahead of the absent Waterford member Niamh Hayden (19 points) to win the Open league on a score of 23 with Lynch in third (18) and Kennedy in a share of fourth (14).

IPC board member Lt Col Brian MacSweeney, former Officer Commanding of the Army Equitation School and a bronze medal winner at the 1981 European eventing championships, was charged with choosing the recipient of the Horsemanship award on Sunday. His winner was the Kildare Branch’s Jack Sargent who finished fourth (46.4) on Harry.

As one of her prizes, Lynch was once again presented with the Irish Pony Club challenge cup which was donated by the late Brigadier Fowler.

“We’ll probably never get back to the days of the Celtic Tiger when we had over 300 entries but they were up about 40 on last year which was very pleasing,” commented the IPC’s chairman of eventing, Marina Brennan.

“The members seemed thrilled to be back at Tattersalls – even though a couple of them went for a swim – and Eugene O’Neill excelled himself with the courses he produced. Gervaise Maher did a great job as chief steward and she was ably-assisted by the Area 7 rep, Elaine Lait. The team of volunteers was wonderful.

“It was very disappointing that there were no teams in the open and we seem to be losing older members to Eventing Ireland although they can do both and the Pony Club certainly offers good value. We had huge numbers in the Under 12 competitions throughout the season and also have a very strong Intermediate brigade who, hopefully, will go Open.

“As ever, we are indebted to our great sponsors, Connolly’s Red Mills, whose Padge Gill was there on Saturday with John Cahill doing duty on Sunday. Also present, but for two days, was Simon Porter whose mobile saddlery shop sponsored the best maintained tack award which went to the United Branch’s Sarah Rohan. The best turned-out award, which comes under the Red Mills banner, went to Charlotte Dangerfield of West Waterford.”