THE two-day Summer Festival staged by the Northern Region of Dressage Ireland at Portmore Equestrian Centre last weekend may have attracted a disappointing entry however the competition was anything but!

There were some very close results, especially in the Advanced Medium championship where regional chair, Joan Adrain, and her Lord Of Loxely gelding Goldwin (63.49%), who did so well at the same venue recently, had to give best to regional treasurer, Karen McKeown, on VSH Gangster (63.89).

McKeown, who also compiles the times for Northern Region shows, has owned this nine-year-old bay gelding by Zambucco since he was four. She plans to continue training with Carolyn Mellor over the winter to Advanced level and then, hopefully, Prix St George.

There was a close result also in the Elementary Championship where Camilla Manningham-Buller took the title on Skipping Rose (67.91%) ahead of Nicole Robinson riding her 13-year-old skewbald mare Copperfield Gold (67.41), a daughter of Glenhill Gold.

This championship was really decided on Saturday when David Patterson awarded Manningham-Buller and her Irish Draught mare a winning score of 72.42 while Robinson, although second, was on 68.39. Skipping Rose, who was bred in Co Armagh by Eileen Thompson, is an 11-year-old grey by Huntingfield Rebel out of Skipping Pearl (by Mountain Pearl).

In the Open championship, Adrain again had to settle for the reserve slot, this time with her 15-year-old Florencio gelding, VSH Florenciano (61.84%). The winner here, on a combined two-day score of 63.68 was Dale Roberts and the 20-year-old Limmerick gelding, Enigma.

Honours

The honours in the Preliminary championship went to Michael Boyd on the jumping-bred Dutch Warmblood, VSH James Bond. The six-year-old by Warrant out of a Burggraaf mare was purchased unbroken in The Netherlands by Carolyn Mellor and is being slowly produced by Boyd who holds him in high regard.

Lucy McDowell claimed the Novice title on the Connemara Forest View Boy (a 12-year-old grey by Forestview JJ), the Medium championship was won by Lucy Adams on the Dutch Warmblood Esdal’s King WA (a seven-year-old gelding by Reekamps Eclips), while the pony title went the way of Zara Woods and the Connemara gelding Ard Mirah, an 11-year-old bay by Westside Mirah.

The Festival was sponsored by TopSpec, Kilbroney Nursing Home and Ferguson International. The last-named company sponsored Saturday’s fancy dress freestyle where the winners were Carolyn Mellor on VSH Beaulero (Grand Prix section), Lucinda Blakiston Houston and Happy Feet (Advanced Medium) and Lou Ferguson riding Italiano (Medium).

The Northern Region finals take place on Sunday next, September 13th, at Connell Hill.