THE Carlow Branch has been enjoying an excellent season which continued last Saturday when its Rockets trio of Alec Redmond, Jude Donohue and Lorna Byrne won the Teams of Three competition at the Mackey Irish Pony Club hunter trials championships at Moorefield Kennels.

This event was originally scheduled for April but was cancelled because of the prevailing ground conditions. Happily, there were no such problems for the rearranged date with over 300 combinations taking part on a day which started off a bit wet but dried off as time progressed.

Thanks must go to the Wexford Hunt Club for the use of their facilities and to the pack’s chairman, John Roberts, for his support and assistance in the run up to this national championships. Long hours of hard work by Jacinta Reville and her team at the Wexford Branch ensured that everything was in top order on the day.

Despite the large numbers competing in the pairs and singles classes, it was disappointing to see just six Branches represented in the Teams of Three competition. Of these, the Killinicks fielded three teams while the Carlows entered two, the second of which was eliminated as was the Kildare Trio.

The Carlow Rockets, who were home clear in 5.33, were easily the youngest squad in the competition. Twelve-year-old Alec Redmond was mounted on the similarly-aged grey gelding Duie One, the year older Jude Donohue partnered the 11-year-old grey gelding Casper’s Midnight Dream (by Templebready Bosun), while Lorna Byrne (15) rode Ballacolla Tom, a 15-year-old skewbald gelding.

Joint-District Commissioner Ivan Hatton was delighted that the Carlow Branch won the Irish Pony Club hunter trials cup. “This has been a fantastic year for the club and it’s not over yet as we will have three teams going to the International Mounted Games competition at Punchestown next month. The three riders on the winning team on Saturday have been members of the Branch since they were eight.

“It was disappointing for the organisers that there were only nine teams in the competition especially when you look at the entries in the pairs and singles. They had produced a very well-presented track and it was great that the event went ahead. Many thanks too to Mackeys for their continued sponsorship.”

Second place in the Teams of Three went to the Wexford Branch’s Three Amigos comprising Annie Finn, Ellen Ronan and Niamh Redmond who recorded their clear round in 5.39, with the Scarteen Trio of Lua McCarthy, Alan Gleeson and Bill Reidy Leahy placing third in 5.59.

The last-named’s younger brother, and fellow Scarteen member, Bill was third in the horn blowing competition behind the Kilkenny’s Jack Kent and Ronan Molony of Kildare, and won the Junior singles competition on the nine-year-old grey Kilfinane Riviere, coming home clear in 4.18.

This was no mean achievement on the part of the 12-year-old Scarteen member as there were 121 starters in this competition. Representing the East Galway Branch, Emily Martin (12) finished second with Tintreach Bain (4.20), while Samantha Bretzer of the Meath Branch was third with Lishmar Timmy (4.27).

Thirteen-year-old Bretzer and the Grade B jumper Lishmar Timmy, a 12-year-old Connemara gelding by Silver Cloud, had earlier joined forces with Zoe Bolton and the 11-year-old grey mare Tilly B to win the Junior pairs when clear in 4.38. The Meath Branch members were presented with the Sarah Miller trophy for their efforts.

The Laois Ash pair of Emma Dunne and Robyn Maher were narrowly beaten into second when finishing in a time of 4.39, while third place went to the South Union Stars, Geraldine Tyner and Paul Burke (4.42). Eighty-six pairs started.

Six teams took part in the Senior pairs competition with the Farrell family cup going to the Newcastle Lyons High Flyers duo of Ivanna Dempsey riding the nine-year-old grey Rose Marie Rebel, an Irish Draught/thoroughbred cross mare, and Emma Brady on Somethingboutnelly, an eight-year-old non-winning thoroughbred mare by Court Cave.

Dempsey and Brady, who are both 16, were home clear in 5.50 which saw them win comfortably from the Island Flyers, Sarah Whelan and Emma Carton, who, with the only other clear, stopped the clock on 6.20.

In the 31-runner Senior singles class, there was another clear-cut winner in Hanna Roch-Perks of the West Waterford Branch whose clear on the 12-year-old KEC Bluejay Diamond mare Guelder Rose came in 4.46. The Killinicks’ Alannah Lacey finished second in 5.06 on Baby Bouncer with Ella Byrne of the Shillelagh Branch, who was just a second slower, slotting into third on Paulbeg Sapphire.

There were only three starters in the Novice Intermediate pairs competition, and just two finishers.

However, the result couldn’t have been much closer with the Ward Union’s Roísín Phelan (Spear Scathach) and Bláthnaid Ní Scanaill (Derrinever Mairtin) going clear in 5.30 to narrowly beat the Wexford pair of Grace Costello and Tara Wakeham who were slower by just one second.

Wakeham also had to settle for second place in the Novice Intermediate singles. Riding Darcy Roxy Girl, the Wexford Branch member was home clear in 5.21, 20 seconds off the winning time of 5.01 recorded by Eabha Murphy of Laois riding Woodstown Fudge.