McCarthy is Star of the Month

ISAAC McCarthy, who is pictured in this week’s pages as part of the winning Dromore High School team which qualified for Balmoral at The Meadows recently, is The Irish Field Star of the Month for February. He was nominated for his consistency at the Baileys Horse Feeds flexi eventing series at the same venue, which saw him win the Intro dressage four weeks in a row, as well as the league outright with Dawn Carlisle’s Suirvalley Little Monkey. McCarthy said at the time that his aim was to qualify for the schools jumping at Balmoral, so it is good to see the young Co Down rider continuing to fulfil his goals.

Stack off to Young Rider’s Academy

LEAH Stack has been accepted onto the Young Rider’s Academy team for 2026. The programme, which has been supported by Rolex since its inception in 2014 and runs in cooperation with the International Jumping Riders Club, is designed to provide young show jumping athletes with world-class training and exposure to the highest levels of international show jumping. A selection event was held at Peelbergen in Holland on March 16th and 17th, where a total of 26 candidates came forward, and Stack was one of the 11 riders from seven nations to be selected. Others include Anthony Philippaerts (BEL) and Thijmen Vos (NED).

Connemara Spring weekend

THE Connemara Pony Breeders’ Society Spring Weekend takes place in Clifden this weekend, with tomorrow, Sunday, featuring the annual stallion parade in the Clifden Showgrounds at 1pm. A young handlers’ clinic also takes place tomorrow, while the farrier competition has been postponed, and will be rescheduled for later in the year. Also part of the weekend will be a show jumping clinic with coach Peter O’Toole, as well as a special sale of broodmares, both taking place at the Connemara Pony Sales today, Saturday.

Dressage Ireland camps

DRESSAGE Ireland has announced on social media that their May training camps are now available to book on the DI itsplainsailing page. Taking place in Necarne on May 2nd-3rd and Glenamaddy on May 16-17th, the coaching list includes DI’s chairman Mark Ruddock and his partner Sean Burgess, as well as Joanne Jarden, who will be a member of the ground jury at this year’s Eventing World Championships in Aachen. These camps offer members a lesson and a test riding session each day, as well as informative talks and non-mounted sessions through the weekend.

Eventing Ireland Leinster League

TAKING place across a selection of venues in the region, who all aim to offer high quality competition, the Eventing Ireland Leinster League will include all classes from EI80 to EI115 and offer a prize fund of over €30,000. This league has been structured to be inclusive, competitive and rewarding for all, and its format encourages consistency and participation, while bringing excitement as the league progresses and standings evolve. Full details, including venues, league structure and points system, will be available through EI channels as the series gets underway, though the league is administered not by EI but by the venues involved.