Margie McLoone

THE final leg of the Irish Pony Club’s senior RDS mounted games league took place at Stradbally Hall on Sunday when the local Laois branch took the 10 points on offer for the winners to finish in joint-third place with 30 points.

Second on Sunday, the reigning champions, Shillelagh & District, topped the table on 36 points followed by Galway Mid County (34), who, for the final two legs, have much missed the side-lined Izzy Kaar. The Island branch, third at Stradbally, shared third place with the Laois.

The talking point on Sunday was the failure of the Meath branch to qualify for the RDS, a situation which has never arisen before according to the IPC’s Mounted Games’ chairman, Pat Tompkins, who had consulted the Meaths’ games guru, Mickey Skelly.

“We had a very good, close competition at Stradbally,” commented Tompkins. “It was nail-biting to the finish. The six teams going to the RDS will have a final chance to perfect their technique in a dress rehearsal at the annual Ossory Agricultural Show in Rathdowney on Sunday, July 17th.”