Dillon overcomes rivals
IN contrast to the other two weekend fixtures, there was a large attendance at the fourth Leinster Region show of the year which was held last Sunday at Redhills Stud.
This was particularly so among Category 1 riders at Preliminary level with 14 combinations appearing before Jillie Rogers in the DI18 while three more started in the Bernie Webb-judged BD19. In the latter class it was Category 1 rider Peter Dillon from Naas who recorded the overall highest score (72.08%) with his eventing mare Thistletown Oldrock Cloe, a six-year-old traditionally-bred Irish Sport Horse daughter of Pointilliste whose flat work phase hadn’t gone to plan eight days earlier at Tyrella.
Twelve of the 24 combined starters in the DI18 achieved a score of 70%+, headed by Category 2 rider Sara Wood, another Co Kildare-based competitor, and the five-year-old ISH (TIH) gelding Avalon Next Generation (76.25) who is by the Connemara stallion Glencarrig Joe.
Dillon didn’t compete in that first Preliminary class but did start in the Rogers-judged BD Novice 22 where, on 72.59, he and Thistletown Oldrock Cloe had to settle for second behind Lucy Cusack and the Dutch Warmblood gelding Kirktown (76.90). Limerick-based Cusack and her six-year-old bay by Uptown out of Gavelle ter Kwincke (by Ravel) also topped Bernie Foley’s marks in the DI24 (66.50).
Foley and Mark Ruddock judged the two Elementary classes and had the same combination topping their respective leaderboards. This was Laura Barry and her ISH gelding Knocklucas Van Duke, a nine-year-old by Waldo van Dungen, who scored 66.30 and 66.13 respectively.
Ruddock judged the five combinations forward in the Medium BD61, awarding his highest score of 69.48 to Cusack and her above-mentioned Dutch Warmblood mare Gavelle ter Kwincke, a 10-year-old by Ravel. Jo May finished second here with Happy Gilmore (64.14) and filled the same position on 62.27 in the Foley-judged two-runner BD69 behind Helen Dunne and her German Warmblood Felino (64.24), a gelded son of Fidertanz.
Win for Oliver
Tara Oliver once again had a rewarding day out of Co Limerick, winning four of the higher-graded classes.
Riding her seven-year-old British-bred Oldenburg gelding Senators Rhonaldo (by Rhondeo) in the two Advanced Medium classes, Oliver scored 70.17 in the uncontested BD85 and 69.12 in the two-runner BD96. On board her 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding Furst Romance (by Furst Romancier), Oliver scored 69.41 in the Prix St George and 69.12 in the Intermediaire I.
Second earlier to Oliver, Dressage Ireland chair Marguerite Kavanagh recorded an uncontested success in the Advanced BD 105 with Fursten (64.53) as did Sarah Mellor on Let’s Dance (60) in the Grand Prix. Jessica McKenna had no rivals either in both Para Grade III classes where, on Rockmills, she scored 63.68 in the FEI individual test and 63.82 in the team test.
Just two started in the Preliminary/FEI test for five-year-old horses where Foley awarded her top score of 75% to Aine Ryan and the Dutch Warmblood gelding Leejoy. The bay is by Fursten-Look out of the Goodtimes mare U Two who, in turn, was out of a mare by Ferro. Catherine McCourt finished second with her ISH (TIH) chesnut Pooka K (64).