THE combined training and pure dressage classes at the Irish Pony Club Festival are always competitive but there was added spice to both disciplines last week at Barnadown as the Kildare Branch siblings, Alex and Ben Connors, competed on Millridge Buachaill Bui and Cornafest Fred with whom they have been selected for next week’s European Pony Eventing Championship at Strzegom, Poland.

“The numbers entered for dressage and combined training were similar to previous years,” reported head of discipline, Kate Harvey. “We take the best four in each combined training class from each of the nine Area qualifiers, and the best two pure dressage teams, plus a few individuals who have placed first or second.

“All of the Areas ran qualifiers this year, so we had almost full classes (i.e., 36) for combined training except for the Novice as this is a fairly new competition which we introduced for riders of any age under 23 who ride the Junior combined training dressage test but only jump 80cms.

“While the entry in the Open combined training is always lower than the others, there were only five in it this year which, I suspect, was because there was no class at the Dublin Horse Show in the RDS, which is why a lot of those who do Open combined training enter the Festival!”

Those five Open competitors included Alex (14) and Ben (13) Connors and, while the latter held a marginal lead after dressage on a score of 76% with the Connemara gelding Cornafest Fred, an eight-year-old by Gwennic de Goariva, he had a pole down show jumping, gifting the class, and with it the IPC Members Cup, to his sister. Here, Alex rode her second pony, the 17-year-old Knockbordan Revelation, who jumped clear over the Tom Holden-designed, John Doyle-built track to win on 75.

Combined training action

The combined training action got under way on Wednesday when the finals of the Under 10s and Under 12s ran concurrently.

This year’s winner of the Under 12 championship was the in-form Tipperary member Evie Kennedy (10) and the Welsh Section C pony, Maihem First Edition (74.25), while nine-year-old Alison Goff partnered Wat A Cookie (73.85) to victory in the Under 10 championship for the Waterford Branch.

The Red Mills Engraving trophy was presented to Meath’s Sophie May Nolan following her all-the-way win in Thursday’s Junior championship where two judges assessed the dressage phase. The 13-year-old has been entrusted with the ride on her aunt Kay Nolan’s wonderful Capitol Coin (74.5), the now 25-year-old Seclude gelding who successfully competed on the Eventing Ireland scene for many seasons under Kay’s children, Katie and Jamie Nolan, who also won on him in the combined training at Dublin. Ridden by Emma Cahill, the chesnut represented Ireland in para dressage.

The Uniteds’ Alana-Rose Steele had a busy week, winning the Intermediate combined training for the Cahill trophy here on the five-year-old Fly Away Ali gelding MBF Lord Lancer Bobbie (73.75) and finishing sixth on Islandwood Quality Control when making her international debut in the CCI1*-Intro at the Kilguilkey House International horse trials.

As the dressage winner, Mae O’Keeffe of the Carbery Branch had a fence down show jumping with Cosmic, Clew Bay’s Lilly Berry McLaughlin won the Novice championship on the Connemara gelding General Sinatra (72.25), a seven-year-old by General Humbert.

For all the firepower of the Kildares with Alex Connors switching to Millridge Buachaill Bui for the pure dressage championships, on a combined score of 67.62, their Purple quartet didn’t feature at all in the placings.

The Bill Fisk memorial shield was presented to the Killinick Green team who won on 72.16. The foursome comprised Anna Radford (Moelgarnedd Daioni), Katie O’Connor (BBS Colour Scheme), Faye Murphy (Robyn) and Isabelle Barry (Kildromin Mentor). Newcastle Lyons Diamonds finished a close second on 72 with the Carbery Tango team placing third on 70.4.

The two arena winners were Laragh Louise Byrne of Newcastle Lyons Diamonds on the seven-year-old German riding pony Steendiek’s Dali Gold (74.07) and Killinick Greens’ Faye Murphy whose score of 74.73 on Robyn saw her being presented with the Rincoola trophy. Due to Covid-19 guidelines of ‘arrive, ride and leave’, there was no ride-off this year.

Kate Harvey was delighted that the two sections ran so smoothly and with the feedback from those who attended. “I have the sense that everyone there was delighted to be taking part and seeing their friends taking part alongside them,” commented Harvey. “The whole occasion felt almost ‘normal’, and hence very enjoyable.”