DUBLIN is once again in the sights of Pauline Dahill and Kirstin MacDonagh who, at Scarteen on Saturday, won the qualifiers for the older Connemara performance hunter championship at the August show.
Riding her mother Joan’s Glencairn Ivy last year, Co Waterford-based Dahill finished second to Edwina O’Connor and Agharanny Minstrel who cannot line-out as a partnership again this season at the Ballsbridge showgrounds.
On Saturday, Dahill secured a ticket with another of Joan’s home-breds, the 10-year-old Ballymore Paprika mare Glencairn Sixpence (248 points) who was also on the lorry north last August.
The second qualifying spot in Section A was filled by Isabelle Nally riding Margaret Nelson’s 10-year-old Earl Of Newbridge gelding Benny Liath (243), a winner of the younger ponies class in 2015 and placed since. Dahill will have to try to qualify once more with Lucky Rebel who finished third (240).
MacDonagh is once again campaigning her smart bay stallion Carracanada River on whom she finished fourth at Dublin last year. On one of her many trips out of Co Galway already this year, MacDonagh and her Templebready Fear Bui 10-year-old qualified at Ravensdale for older rider Connemara final at next month’s Sports Pony Challenge at Barnadown where Dahill is due to line-out with both Glencairn Sixpence and Lucky Rebel.
MacDonagh and the James Byrne-bred Carracanada River won Section B at Scarteen on 244 points, getting the nod over Avril Hobson and Lon Mac Liomhtha who completed on the same total but had a fence down.
Just failing to quality in third on 243 points was Zara Burke Ott and Aille Fountain Breeze who had finished second in the CCI1* for ponies at Tattersalls seven days earlier.
CRAWFORD THROUGH
A clear jumping round also decided the result in Section B of the four and five-year-old class were both the winner, Ardfry Soren, and the runner-up, Miller’s Lad, completed on 236 points. The former was ridden by Pataire Crawford for her mother Claire who bred the six-year-old Gurteen King gelding out of the Glenvalley Grey mare Ardfry Ianna. The five-year-old Miller’s Lad, who was ridden for Patrick Murphy by his daughter Eimear, is by Funambule out of Millers Tara, by Derrylough Bobby, and was bred by Patrick Durkin.
Things were more clear-cut in Section A where Jason Doerflinger took the honours with Gerry Reilly’s Westonhouse Buachaill Mor (237 points), a six-year-old Monaghanstown Boy gelding who was bred in Co Offaly by Dermot Dunne.
Having already qualified for the Sports Pony Challenge, Keelan Murray booked her passage to Dublin with the seven-year-old Cosheen Stormboy stallion Lough Fadda Rudi.
Nine of the younger ponies were eliminated in the jumping phase, as were 10 in the older section. One combination didn’t get to start in the Derby Arena as they took a heavy fall while warming-up. The rider spent a couple of days under observation in hospital in Limerick before being transferred to Dublin to be nearer home.