THE third running of the QHP Equestrian event pony league at Wexford Equestrian saw a pony rider win for the first time and Jess Widger from Waterford rounded off the series in dominant style again on finals day on Wednesday.

The 14-year-old won the nine-runner class on Grantstown True Love (211.8), who, on 167, comfortably topped the scores in the Derby Arena where the jumping rounds were judged by Ian Fearon and Britain’s Jenny Loriston Clarke, and also finished third on Grantstown Coat Of Many Colours (195.1).

Both ponies, who are owned by the rider’s mother Laura and were bred by her grandfather Tosh Widger, are five-year-old mares by the Connemara stallion General Humbert out of closely-related dams.

Senior rider Jade Morton from Dublin finished second (195.9) on Wednesday with her purebred Connemara Glenore Buster, a six-year-old grey gelding by Brock Lodge Buster out of the Lissatava Bobby mare, Lacken Mist. He won the Anne-Marie Dunphy-judged dressage phase on 47.9.

Grantstown True Love topped the league standings on 25 points, ahead of his stable-companion Grantstown Coat Of Many Colours (31) with Glenmore Buster third on 26.5. For good measure, Widger also finished sixth in the league on Tom O’Riordan’s Grantstown Charisma (18).

The young rider, who was reserve in the junior equitation championship at the 2017 Dublin Horse Show on Grantstown Tokyo, another home-produced pony, is well-known on the show jumping circuit. However, after her performances throughout the Stepping Stones to Success league, she may branch out into eventing.

Sponsors QHP Equestrian were represented at Wednesday’s prize-giving by Trevor McClelland of the Wexford Equestrian-based retail store Doagh Equestrian.