A SURPRISED and delighted Lisa Dundee was presented with the Lady Jennifer Fowler Volunteer Award at Tattersalls on Sunday evening.

The award was established in the memory of the late Chich Fowler, one of the event’s committee members in its formative years, and was presented to Lisa by Chich’s son Harry, sales director at Tattersalls Ireland, and his children Rosie and Johnny.

Lisa, a well-known competitor, particularly in the Northern Region, works with the cross-country control team at the Tattersalls International Horse Trials, manning the doctors and veterinary surgeons’ network. She also carried out the same duties at Punchestown, covering the European Championships there in 2003.

On the one-day scene, Lisa is local organiser for the event at Glenpatrick and also looks after the dressage arenas for any events in Co Antrim.

Dunsany-based Kerri Lyons was the recipient of the Christine Bastow Trophy for the highest-placed North Leinster Region amateur following her 13th place finish in the Land Rover CCI1* on Olympic Cool.

The 22-year-old, who completed on her dressage score (49.8) and was presented with the trophy by the class winner, New Zealand’s Tim Price, has just finished her business degree course at the Dublin Business School. For the summer, she plans to mix eventing with riding in races for her father, the flat trainer Ger Lyons.

“With my studies, I only got to compete at the two Punchestown events this year so the one-star here was always the plan. The horse is stabled with the Powers and is very much a pet in the yard with Mags riding him every day.

“As I am now out of Young Riders, there is no pressure to get on a team so I am just going to enjoy my eventing with Ollie.

“While there are restrictive criteria for this award, I was delighted to win anything in such a competitive class!”

Another Meath rider who was well pleased with her performance, and that of her horse Master Peace, was Jennifer Byrne who finished 35th in the Cooley Farm CCI1* class.

The rider’s mother Anne, who is one of the organisers of Friday’s fund-raising lunch, drove her daughter and the grey gelding to the event in their lorry but, after all his exertions, the seven-year-old had to walk home.

Not such a chore really as the Byrnes live just across the road from Tattersalls at the entrance to Fairyhouse Racecourse.