THE Irish Pony Club national tetrathlon championships took place last weekend thanks to huge efforts on the part of the organising committee who, at a late stage, had to find a new venue for the swimming and shooting phases of the competition.

“We were meant to use the National Aquatic Centre in Blanchardstown on the Saturday but at the start of the month we learned that we couldn’t use an indoor pool for competition because of Covid-19 protocols,” explained committee chairman, John Flood. “We then got in contact with the Ballinakill Outdoor Swimming Pool in Co Laois and they were able to accommodate us but only on the Sunday!

“Thanks to the co-operation of Ciaran Glynn, who built great courses with plenty of options, we were able to reverse the order of competition to have the running and riding phases on the Saturday at Killossery Lodge Stud and then everyone had to head to Laois the following day for the swimming and shooting phases. Also, because of Covid-19 we had to implement the ‘arrive, compete and leave’ policy which meant no prize-giving ceremonies. This was a great pity as we had four members winning their first national titles.”

The first of these to do so was Waterford’s William Verling who, on a total of 4,131 points, won the Senior Boys’ individual championship, in his first year at this level. He topped the scores in both the running (1,123) and swimming (1,098) phases but finished third (820) in the shooting phase, won by Conor Findlay (880) of the East Down Branch, and only seventh (1,090) in the riding phase where both Tipperary’s Bob Barton and Scarteen’s Hugh Lillingston were on the maximum 1,400 points.

Verling was presented with the Langford Salver for being champion individual, the Alistair Forsythe trophy for winning the swimming phase and the John Deakin trophy for winning the run.

Second individually in the 10-strong competition was Louth member Lee Grifferty (3,950) ahead of Wexford’s Caolan Costello (3,910), Conor Findlay (3,651) and Wexford’s Henry Seebach (3,556). These four combined won the team competition for the Jobling Purser Cup.

Nine teams started in the Senior Girls’ championship and it was a composite trio of Kildare’s Ruth Sargent (4,018) and Emily Martin (3,480) plus Wexford’s Flora Dunne (3,688) who came out on top on 11,546 points to claim the Carew cup. The Ward Union Stars (Eabha Toole, Ruth Barrett and Ellen Collins) were second on 11,486 (winning the Quorn cup for the riding phase) with Bray Blades (Zara Kelly, Holly Smith, Eva Marriott and Holly Micklem) placing third on 11,480.

Though only equal 14th (1,340) in the riding phase and 10th (760) in shooting, Cavan’s Lucy Hogan bagged her first national title for the Gordon Salver on 4,160 thanks to her scores in the running (984) and swimming (1,076) phases for which she was presented with the Heather Foley trophy. Sargent, who fared best in running (1,048) for the Howell trophy and had the maximum riding score, finished second on 4,018 with Marriott third on 3,998. Martin, one of 13 on the maximum ride score, fared best in the shooting phase on a score of 880 and was presented with the Rhona Barry salver.

Hugely popular

Tetrathlon is extremely popular among younger members with 12 teams contesting the Junior Boys’ championship while 21 teams took part in the girls’ equivalent.

It was good to see six Branches field teams in the Boys’ competition with newcomers, the Golden Vale, being represented by one team of four and one of three. Although none of their squad finished in the top three individually, the Limerick Leaders quartet of Sonny McCartan, Tim Collins, Ben Buckley and Sean Alfred were presented with the IPC trophy having recorded the winning team score of 13,025 points.

The second-placed team on 12,918 comprised Galway Mid County’s Michael Hussey, the Duhallows’ Teddy Turner and Andrew Healy plus Meath’s Dechlan Carr Robinson. Third place went to another composite team – Limerick’s William Collins, Carlow’s Jamie Hargaden, Newcastle Lyons’s James Dempsey and John Asple James of the Island – who completed on 12,395.

Winning the swim phase on 1,292 (for the Cathal Dunlop trophy), helped Hussey claim individual honours, and the Meath Branch Wellman International trophy, on 4,702. The Ward Union’s Jed Collins, who won the running on 1,295, finished second overall (4,633) ahead of Hargaden whose total of 4,597 included the winning shooting phase score of 850. While 19 competitors picked up the maximum 1,400 points in the riding phase, special mention must be made of the Wexford Braves (Cillian Crosbie, Ben Barron, Ryan Barron and Michael Bowe) who all manged to do so.

The Carlow Hot Shots lived up to their billing when winning the Junior Girls’ championship for the Carew challenge cup on a total of 13,154. The team comprised Ruth Fogarty, Sarah Kehoe, Hannah Kelly and Anna Murphy. Fogarty proved the section’s top shot on a score of 870 and then claimed overall individual honours for the Meath Branch Paul Smith trophy on 4,458, just ahead of Kehoe (4,454) who shared first place in the running phase with Murphy on 1,080.

The second-placed team on 12,568 were the Duhallow Dashers (Ella Lombard, Victoria Roche, Ali Fitzpatrick and Grace Forde) with third spot being filled by the Tipperary Tornadoes (Eva McMahon, Anna O’Callaghan, Emily Fox and Ruby Ffrench Davis) who amassed 11,987 points. Aisling Marriott of Bray Beasts was third individually on 4,448. The top swimmer for the Lowe Family cup with 1,232 points was Longford’s Aine Murray who was one of 37 to complete the riding phase on 1,400.

Honouring Gabriella Weaver

A new trophy was presented in the Junior Girls’ championship in memory of Gabriella Weaver who died in a car accident in Spain last month. “Gabriella, who was a member of the Roscommon Branch, was an important part of our large tetrathlon family and represented Ireland on many occasions,” said Flood.

“She was a keen rider, an excellent runner and an accurate shot but swimming was where she excelled. A member of Trident Swimming Club, she pursued her love of swimming to University and was part of the Irish national swim team. The new trophy represents her contribution to that discipline within tetrathlon.”