KILLOSSERY Riding Club may just have picked a bad weekend to hold their one-day event as there was a relatively low entry at Killossery Lodge Stud last Sunday, though slightly better than at Cloncaw seven days earlier.

No doubt, the figures from both events will be discussed at North Eastern Region meetings but the decision taken to drop qualification through AIRC events for September’s horse trials championships may well explain the reduction in entries.

Those who wanted rain to ease the ground certainly got what they wished for as there were some torrential downpours, particularly during the morning, with thunder and lightning as a bonus. Happily, it was warm between showers and, for the most part, those who competed very much enjoyed the experience.

Ciaran Glynn designed excellent tracks for the event while, in his absence, his parents, Frank and Laura, did sterling work all day; Frank is chairman of Killossery RC. Among family and friends who volunteered on Sunday was Declan Gaffney who also sponsored the event through The Horse Mad Store outside Swords.

The only male rider to be presented with a first prize by Gaffney was Simon Beattie who won the intermediate class on his dressage score of 23.8 penalties. The Kilrainey member partnered Aisling Carter’s five-year-old bay gelding Ace Mr T who, disappointingly, has no recorded breeding. The pair were second in an EI 90 combined training class at Kedrah Castle last month.

The Abbeylands club took second place here through Julie Benson who, on board the Bonmahon Decies mare Naoise B, added four show jumping penalties to her first phase score of 24.2.

Castle Leslie struck twice during the day with Joanne Evans first landing the green horse class on her winning dressage score of 22 penalties with her five-year-old Bertie gelding My Festy Dancer. Mullingar’s Vivienne Murtagh claimed second place on 28 penalties with Ark Houdini who is a six-year-old bay gelding by the Cruise On stallion Arkle Cruise.

Evanne McKenna also recorded an all-the-way victory for Castle Leslie in the advanced primary division when completing on her first phase score of 25.3 with her 12-year-old grey mare Bella Rosi. Riding her 15-year-old gelding Little Hawk, Cheval’s Yvonne Hughes was some way adrift in second when ending the day on her flatwork mark of 35.

Best known for their exploits in dressage, members of Ashbrook can jump as well as demonstrated by chairman Anne O’Dowd who won the advanced intermediate section on her flatwork mark of 31 penalties with the 12-year-old bay mare FCD Touch Of Class.

Mullingar’s Joanne Leavy also completed on her first phase score of 31.5 to finish second on the nine-year-old home-bred mare Kildallon (by Star Kingdom) but the addition of four show jumping penalties saw the Brooke Lodge dressage winners (29.5), Juliet Stephens and Colourful, having to settle for third place.

Following the withdrawal of the only other entry, Tara Hill’s Nicola Coffey was left to win the open class unopposed on her nine-year-old River Field Big Tom who she competes in Eventing Ireland novice classes and under Showjumping Ireland rules. The bay gelding is by Lux Z out of the Diamond Chin mare Bective Diamond Star.

No doubt the Killossery club will be well represented at tomorrow’s Connolly’s Red Mills show jumping championships in Mullingar but the main focus of members’ attention is the Horseware team championship at the RDS next month when they will represent the north eastern region for the second successive year.