ON a weekend when equestrian sports in this country were totally overshadowed by the tragic death of Tiggy Hancock, another young rider, Maeve Deverell, wore yellow ribbons in Tiggy’s memory to three successes at Annaharvey Farm last Friday.
Yellow was also won by many other riders, stewards and even horses at this Midland & Western Region show in Co Offaly as was the case on Sunday afternoon when the same region staged a show at the Hession family’s Woodlands Equestrian Centre in Co Sligo.
On a dry but cloudy day, two of Deverell’s victories before Friday’s judge, Donie McNamara, came on board the eight-year-old dun Radolin gelding Annaharvey Dunowen who was bred by her grandfather, Henry Deverell, out of a Cavalier Royale mare.
On their second start at Novice level (the first being in March 2020), the home-based combination won the five-runner DI23 on a percentage score of 69.52 while, on their first appearance at Elementary level, they comfortably held off their sole rivals, Jennifer Denny on Wild Domaine (64.42), when achieving a mark of 67.69.
In the Novice class, both Simone Hession on Beezies Ripple and Ursula Fitzpatrick riding Tinnakill Kizzy scored 66.77 but Hession got the nod with the higher collective mark (61.5 compared to 60.5).
Deverell also landed the eight-strong Preliminary DI4 with her pony Derravaragh Boy (68.80). Here, there was a dead-heat for second between Maureen Dillon-Bowers on Doris Rebel and Shauna Hughes on Tierhogar Seve who both scored 67 and had equal collective marks of 54.
Eleven-year-old Deverell competed at her first Dressage Ireland show in 2017 on one of the school ponies before moving on to Derravaragh Boy the following year.
“She has only ridden horses occasionally at home since 2019 and really only started working on Dunowen in the lead-up to Friday’s show,” reported the show’s organiser, Maeve’s mother Aisling who won the Novice Category 2 championship on Annaharvey Dunowen at DI’s Winter Finals in Ballindenisk earlier this year. “When the schools were closed this spring due to Covid, she started learning lateral movements on (her father) Sam’s horse, Annaharvey Delheim.”
National Championships target
While the National Championships in September with be Maeve’s target on the dressage front, her equestrian interests extend to show jumping (she recorded double clears in the 90cms and 1m classes at Mullingar on Sunday) and eventing. The young rider intends competing Derravaragh Boy in an unaffiliated event at Lisgarvan next month before making her Eventing Ireland debut later in the summer. In fifth class at school, Maeve also plays rugby and hockey with clubs in Tullamore.
Another local rider on the mark on Friday was Lorraine Kennedy who recorded uncontested wins in both Medium classes, DI62 (65.32) and BD93 (63.51), with the 17-year-old Garrison Royal gelding, Major Furisto. This combination is entered in the EI110 (Open) at Hillcrest today.
Although she had to settle for second place in the Novice class on Friday, Simone Hession’s journey down to Co Offaly paid off in the Preliminary DI15 which she and the 15-year-old Beezies Ripple won comfortably on a score of 68.21. Best of their five rivals were Shauna Hughes and Tierhogar Seve (66.25).
“Annaharvey has always been one of my favourite venues to travel to,” said Hession. “It’s lovely to be out competing on a home-bred Connemara and I also competed his sire, Gurteen Rebel. My mum, Julia, breeds Connemaras so she enjoys seeing her ponies out doing well.
“Beezies Ripple only recently started competing as he was a pony I used for coaching clients here at Woodlands Equestrian Centre who needed a pony with ‘a bit more in the tank’. During the Covid lockdown I took over the ride. He had never left home before but has taken to his new life extremely well and I plan to keep him on to compete.”
The Hessions played host to the Midland & Western Region show on Sunday when the sunny and dry weather was a vast improvement on the wind and rain which struck the fixture at Woodlands back in early May.
Having gone clear on his working hunter debut at Mullingar the previous weekend, CAFRE Supreme Echo made his second start under DI rules a winning one when landing the Preliminary DI18 under Newport, Co Mayo cattle and sheep farmer, Aoife Chambers. The combination received a percentage score of 69.79 from the day’s judge, Clare Fitzsimons, to narrowly claim the honours ahead of Simone Hession and Beezies Ripple (69.58).
The home-based duo also had to settle for the runner-up spot (67.50) in the other Preliminary class, the DI8, behind Niamh Tottenham and Slieve Callan Gael (67.69). Co Clare-based Tottenham bred the four-year-old Tyson gelding out of GI Miz Minx (by Courage II) who had earned 111 Show Jumping Ireland points when retiring to stud.
“I always have to travel a good distance when eventing so the two and a half hours up to Woodlands wasn’t a big deal,” said Tottenham. “Not only was this my first time to go to the Hessions’ equestrian centre, where everyone was really so nice and very helpful, but it was my first time to compete at a DI show.” Tottenham also won the two-runner Elementary DI56 on her promising eventing mare Fortmoy Queen Bee (71.13), a six-year-old daughter of Watermill Swatch.
Other scores over 70% were recorded by Lizzie Naugthon with her 12-year-old Bahrain Cruise gelding Andyanderson in the Novice DI24 (70.67) and the Elementary DI51 (72.04) and by Rebecca McGrath who was the only starter in the Novice DI27 with her 17-year-old chesnut mare, Tickerlevan Sun Rise (70.34).
One class gave Simone Hession particular pleasure. “We held a Pony Club test for the first time and the team from the Sligo Hunt Pony Club competed in preparation for the Area qualifiers next weekend. As a past member of the Branch, it was particularly nice to coach them and have a team competing in dressage.” The individual winner was Yasmin Hughes on board the 19-year-old Moores Clover mare Lightening McQueen (67.22).