THE United and Carbery Branches combined to run a qualifier in the Irish Pony Club/Connolly’s Red Mills series last Sunday at Ballindenisk where Nicole Lynch comfortably won the five-runner Open class with Chasmarella.

South Union Branch member Lynch, whose total of 33.8 included two show jumping time penalties, partnered the 10-year-old Nigrasine mare into 12th place in the CCIJ1* class at the Tattersalls International Horse Trials earlier in the summer. The pair are due to compete in the Eventing Ireland CNC2* class tomorrow at Kilguilkey House.

The Scarteens’ Shane Kett recorded a narrow victory in the 25-strong Intermediate class where he rode the five-year-old Yeats mare Yeats Royale on whom he has finished fourth in the combination’s two starts in two CNCJ1* classes. The grey, who was bred in Co Limerick by John James Hassett, is a half-sister to the show jumpers Hallo Friend (by Hallo) and For Lux Sale (by Lux Z).

West Waterford Branch member James Fennell recorded an all-the-way victory in Section A of the Juniors on the 10-year-old 148cms bay gelding Taylors Dicey Reilly while Section B was won in similar fashion by Co Clare’s Maeve Begley riding the 15-year-old grey mare Silver Jessica.

Gearoid Bolger of Waterford landed Section A of the Under 12 competition on the well-known 17-year-old bay gelding Freemount Tayto with Section B going the way of Nenagh’s Charlie Cairns on the 20-year-old bay mare Miss Delilah.

Disappointingly, the Laois Branch has been forced to cancel tomorrow’s qualifier at Stradbally Hall because of the hard ground, but the qualifier at Crecora, hosted by the Co Limerick Branch, is scheduled to go ahead as planned.

Area 7 has rescheduled last weekend’s postponed qualifier at Tattersalls to tomorrow week (July 15th) while the Killinick Branch is set to run its usual mid-week qualifier at Sleedagh on July 18th.

The current dry spell is also having its effect on activities in Area 17 of The Pony Club (Northern Ireland). Today’s Area dressage competition, hosted by the Killultagh Branch, is still going ahead at Ballyvannon but Monday’s show jumping Area trials have been moved from Kircubbin to The Meadows.

The Fermanagh Branch hosts next weekend’s Area Tetrathlon championships. On Friday, the swimming, running and shooting phases take place at the Fermanagh Lakeland Forum in Enniskillen with competitors moving down to Cloncaw Equestrian in Glaslough, Co Monaghan for Saturday’s cross-country ride phase.