Margie McLoone

LONGFORD may not be one of the largest branches of the Irish Pony Club but its members and their parents are hugely dedicated and their commitment to training has paid off in spades this year with team wins at national level in both show jumping and eventing.

Last Sunday, at the Coilog Equestrian Centre in Co Kildare, that winning trend continued when Aisling McGreal, who was on the victorious squads at both Mullingar and Kilguilkey House, won the 1.20m IPC Classic Final with the only double clear in the eight-runner field.

McGreal was riding Daryl Noble’s eight-year-old Mister Blue mare Big Blue Nun on whom, against the clock, she left all the poles intact in the very good time of 50.61. Her main challenger was Susie Doyle of the Golden Vale who, on board her mother Mary’s Herbst Acapella, had a pole down in 55.73.

Both riders won the IPC Shop-sponsored prizes of a week’s training bursary with the Army Equitation School. However, as McGreal, who turned 19 on Monday and started first year in Agricultural Science at UCD during the week, had already spent a week at McKee Barracks, when second to Phoebe Lamb in 2013, she cannot take up the offer.

This change in the rule is disappointing for McGreal but the good news for her club is that the prize still goes to Longford as third place on Sunday was filled by UCD Actuarial & Financial student Áine McLoughlin, who rode the family’s Last Man Lara. This combination won the members’ combined training at the RDS last year.

Doyle was delighted to be presented with the bursary as she is following in the footsteps of her sister Shannon. Herbst Acapella, who was sourced through international event rider Joseph Murphy, is a 12-year-old Grade C gelding, by Aldato, on whom Doyle has been competing at 1.35m level.

The 17-year-old from Holycross is another who has enjoyed a great summer as, following the Dublin Horse Show, where she won the working hunter pony championship on Fiona O’Dwyer’s Knocklucas Chloe, she spent a month in the United States with her brother Jack, a National Hunt jockey.

plenty of prizes

Although McGreal will not be heading to McKee, she went home with plenty of prizes, sponsored by Equestrian World Maynooth, as she also won the 1.10m Classic Finder with Big Blue Nun.

Interestingly, this was McGreal’s second success at this level as she won it in 2013, while Doyle landed it the following year.

McGreal is very grateful to Daryl Noble for allowing her ride Big Blue Nun this year. In the eventing championships, she partnered Kimono Sash (who she also show jumps), a seven-year-old Vivaldo Van Het Costersveld mare owned and bred by the IPC chairman, Harold McGahern. Last autumn, heading into Leaving Certificate year, McGreal decided she wouldn’t have the time to put into her young horse and so sold the home-bred Corbeagh Breeze to Michael Ryan, who finished sixth on the 2009 Clover Flush gelding in the CIC* at Camphire International in July.

There were four double clears recorded in the Classic Finder where McGreal, in 37.90, finished ahead of Carlow’s Seamus Dermody on Tankardstown Iclone (39.10) and Doyle and Herbst Acapella (40.21).

The youngest rider in the class, 14-year-old Pataire Crawford, was fourth (42.54) on Ardfry Skye for Galway Mid County.

In the Classic Starter, only three double clears were recorded over the 1m track from a starting field of 22. Here the honours also went to the Longford branch as Thomas Whyte, who rode Ardagh Airborne, stopped the clock on 43.20 in the jump-off round.

The Carlow branch again finished second thanks to the efforts of James Kavanagh with Tankardstown Quality Cruise (47.13), while Jessica Curran O’Flynn and Ballygirl slotted into third (51.23) for West Waterford.

Ardagh Airborne, a nine-year-old Maximum Clearance mare, was homebred by Whyte’s father Tom, who shares the ride on the bay with his son under SJI rules and in other activities.

Over one weekend this summer, Tom, as a member of Mosstown, rode Ardagh Airborne in a Riding Club one-day event with Thomas (16), who is now in his Leaving Certificate year, taking over the mount the following morning for an IPC/Connolly’s Red Mills qualifier.

Also riding for Longford, Thomas’ cousin, Edel Whyte (16), finished fifth in the 1m class and was second in the inaugural 90cms Classic final with Sleehaun Sparrow (37.79), a five-year-old Connemara gelding by Manninard Abel out of a Monaghanstown Boy mare.

The winner, in a time of 37.24, was delighted Bray member Aoife O’Leary riding the 12-year-old grey mare Drishogue Lotto.