THE Bingham family, who are in Ard Chuain this weekend for the RDS pony show jumping qualifier, bagged a ticket for Dublin at The Meadows on Wednesday when 13-year-old Ellie comfortably won the 45-strong 143cm working hunter pony qualifier on Currabawn Prada.

Bingham and her mother Ashley’s seven-year-old 138cm Irish Sport Horse mare by Celtic Hero B Z completed on a total of 82.5 points which left them well clear of the runners-up, Co Galway’s Amber Tobin and Lucy Townsley’s similarly-aged chesnut gelding Harry Finn (75.2) who has no recorded pedigree.

“We bought Currabawn Prada, who’s out of a Connemara mare (Currabawn Clare, by Aran Flight), from his breeders, the Heslins, as a four-year-old,” revealed the owner. “Our eldest daughter Sofia (16), who’s now out of ponies, produced him up to 1.10m level until handing the ride over to Ellie at the start of the year. Ellie is coached by Debbie Byrne and Steven Smith, while Georgia and Indie, who competed in the starter stakes qualifier, are coached locally by Rachelle Harding.

“The girls have all been members of the East Antrim Pony Club since they were about four and, as a former Killultagh Pony Club member myself, I like to see them do other things with their ponies besides show jumping. Ellie thinks she might like to event Currabawn Prada in the future.

“The two youngest girls competed in the Under 10s championship at Balmoral but, as there are no jumping classes at Dublin for that age group, we will be heading to the two remaining working hunter qualifiers at Killossery (next Wednesday, June 25th) and Barnadown (Wednesday, July 2nd).”

Starter Stakes

There were 51 combinations in the Starter Stakes at The Meadows of whom 12 failed to complete. The winner on a score of 74.5 points was Portadown’s Taylor-Lee Doyle (11) on board her mother Amanda’s Welsh gelding Telynau Darwin (74.5), a seven-year-old chesnut son of Burnbury Fahrenheit.

This combination has been enjoying a very good season, most recently winning the starter stakes championship at the Kildare/North Leinster Area show at Killossery Lodge Stud on Sunday while they were also crowned supreme champions at the pre-Balmoral show in Ardnacashel. They claimed nearly all before them at the Northern Ireland Festival in Cavan, crowning a very special weekend with victory in the Festival supreme working hunter pony championship.

Three combinations completed on 72 points apiece but, going on their jumping score, Co Meath’s Cara O’Connor placed second with last year’s winner of this qualifier, Ronnoco Jump’s 14-year-old Grade A mare In It To Win It.