National

Dressage Day

THE Irish Pony Club summer season is well underway with the National Dressage Day, sponsored by TRI Equestrian, taking place today at the Spruce Lodge training facility in Redcross, Co Wicklow. There are warm-up tests and competition tests scheduled for Under 10s, Under 12s, Junior, Intermediate and Open/SA riders.

Tomorrow, the first two qualifiers for the Connolly’s Red Mills eventing championships are being staged at Killossery Lodge Stud in north Co Dublin and at Newtownbarry House, Co Wexford.

Tattersalls Ireland, venue for the finals, will host a qualifier on Sunday next, July 2nd while, seven days later, on Sunday, July 9th, there will be qualifiers at Stradbally Hall and Ballycahane.

Dublin qualifier

NEXT Friday, June 30th, Area 17 of The Pony Club stages the Northern Ireland qualifier for the combined training classes at the Dublin Horse Show in August.

The event is being hosted by the Iveagh branch at their Moyallon grounds in Gilford from where two Intermediate riders and two Members will qualify for the finals at the RDS.

Although Area 2 of the IPC held its qualifier at Coilog back in April, all others take place next month, starting with Area 8 at the Ballinasloe showgrounds on Tuesday, July 4th and concluding with Area 4 at Sleedagh Farm on Saturday, July 22nd.

One rider at both grades will qualify from the IPC Area finals giving a maximum of 11 riders in the two classes at Dublin.

Joy for Shillelagh

THE first of this year’s qualifiers for the Irish Pony Club mounted games finals at the Dublin Horse Show was held last Saturday at Gorey show where the winners were the Shillelagh branch followed by Monaghan and Laois.

The second qualifier takes place today at Charleville, Co Cork with round three being staged at Stradbally Hall during the popular hound show on Sunday next, July 2nd.

The last of the four qualifiers is scheduled for Rathdowney Show on Sunday, July 23rd.

Restrictions on space last week prevented us from acknowledging the fine achievement of the Wexford Branch whose Junior and Under 10s teams won their respective Winter leagues.

The Junior team comprised brothers Seamus and Padraig Nolan, Emma Simmons, Charlotte Conway, John Robert Conway and Jill Finn who has previously featured in these pages as ‘Miss Stickability’.

Those who competed on the Wexford’s Under 10s team were Paul Nolan, Harry and Laura Simmons, Sarah Jane Tector and Cora Finn.