While the number of members competing in pure dressage within the Irish Pony Club remains on the low side, young riders are increasingly aware of the importance of good flatwork for eventing and show jumping.

This is according to Kate Harvey, chairman of the IPC’s dressage and combined training committee who, along with Marie Hennessy from Midleton, was the driving force behind the recent IPC national dressage day at Spruce Lodge.

To underline Harvey’s opinion, most of the winners at Stradbally on Sunday led from the first phase.

Disappointed that the entry wasn’t larger at Joan Keogh’s lovely Co Wicklow venue, Harvey was very pleased with the improving standards of riding and turn-out and the way in which the day unfolded.

One rider who is proving successful both in pure dressage and eventing is Kate Lenihan from the Waterford branch. The 13-year-old paid a successful visit to Spruce Lodge, winning the morning’s junior warm-up competition in the short arena and, later on, finishing first and second in the long arena.

In both instances Lenihan won with the Connemara, Sheebas Boy, a nine-year-old gelding by Monaghanstown Pat with whom she has qualified for the over 138cms equitation class at the RDS in August.

The grey gelding was previously campaigned by the Brays’ Sean Mooney who is now apprenticed to Co Tipperary racehorse trainer Tommy Stack.

Lynn Cassidy, who judged the morning’s class, agreed with fellow afternoon adjudicator Anne Kirwan in placing Lenihan and Sheebas Boy at the top of their markings. Both reserved their next best scores for his stable-companion Tyson who Jerry Lenihan, the rider’s father, purchased from the famous Costello racing family in Co Clare.

Lenihan and Tyson have been successful in the Silver Spurs scheme for the past two years and the rider has spent the bursaries she has won on training with Louise Lyons and Sue Smallman.

The Waterford member won two of the junior classes at the Annaharvey leg of the Connolly’s Red Mills eventing series, was second in Farrangalway with Sheebas Boy and won again at Tattersalls last Sunday week.

The Westmeaths’ Sofie Walshe won both the intermediate warm-up on her well-known partner Horseleap Bruno who now carries the Lough Fadda pre-fix.

“Sofie needed to track down Bruno’s breeding if he was to compete in certain competitions and, when she did, she discovered that he had the Lough Fadda pre-fix of his breeders, the Heanues from Clifden,” explained the rider’s mother Charlie.

Walshe and the 21-year-old Ashfield Festy gelding also competed in last weekend’s Silver Spurs semi-finals while the combination competed at novice level under Dressage Ireland rules this year.

The Brays’ Sam Micklem won the Mairin Cassidy-judged open warm-up class with the eventer Smart Spirit with whom he has qualified for the open combined training class at Dublin.

However, in the long arena competition, he could finish only fourth.

Comfortable winners here were the Kildares’ Stephanie McGlynn and the home-bred Salalah Princess Khareef, a seven-year-old grey mare by Silver Granite.

McGlynn’s teammate Jessica Beresford, who finished second with Cill Bhrid Bui, nearly six points behind the winner, landed the two-runner freestyle to music with that nine-year-old Templebready Fear Bui mare on whom she finished 24th in the CCIJ1* at Tattersalls.

The Kildare branch also had an excellent result in the under-12 section, where judges Anne Kirwan (warm-up) and Bernie Webb (competition) were both impressed by the work of Tara Hayes and Bantiss Holy Joe.