LONGFORD, called up late to represent the Irish Pony Club, finished sixth in the open team competition at the Weatherbys Private Banking Pony Club championships at Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire last weekend.

Having travelled over to England on Sunday morning, James Whyte (Diamond Flush), Rebecca Yorke (E Corletta) and Áine McLoughlin walked the course that evening and had their first round completed before 9am on Monday.

The team was one of four on a zero score at the halfway stage but over a far bigger, more technical track in the afternoon and with no discard score, they finished sixth on 20 faults with the winners, the Flint & Denbigh Hunt branch beating the West Warwickshire club in a jump-off as both had a two-round total of 12.

“We were thrilled with the team’s performance,” said Ann Marie McLoughlin, Áine’s mother and District Commissioner of the Longfords who attended the championships along with James’s father Gerry, who was chef d’euipe, and Rebecca’s mother Irene.

Tullylagan’s Claire Badger finished 10th in the open individual competition, a position also filled at Intermediate level by the Seskinore Harriers’ Aisling Monaghan.

On a total of 12 faults, the Iveagh squad of Hannah Agnew, Hollie Smith, Hannah Rafferty and Laoise O’Farrell finished sixth in the intermediate team championship won on four faults by the Rockwood Harriers Branch.

Fifty-seven teams contested the novice competition which was also won on fault faults by the Quorn Hunt Branch. Area 17 performed well at this level as the Route quartet of Niamh Carr, Aimee McCaw, Kathie Woodrow and Ellen Donnelly finished second on eight faults while the Iveaghs’ Sarah Clarke, Shanie Murphy, Rachael Patterson and Jasmine Crothers were fifth with 12 faults.

In eventing, the East Down team finished fourth in the open championships on a penalty score of 177 behind the winning Heythrop Hunt branch (123).

Disappointingly, Harriet Pele was eliminated but the other team members fared well in their arenas with Chloe Rooney placing eighth, Toni Quail fifth and Andrew Turley fourth. Only seven of the 19 teams completed.

Thanks to the good arena results of Christine McVeigh (fifth) and Leah Jackson (ninth) the North Down squad, which also contained Charlotte de Montmorency, finished sixth in the intermediate team championship on 148.4 penalties. The winners of the 24-strong team competition was the North Cotswold Hunt on 93.1.

Ciara Muirhead of the Iveaghs finished second in her arena while her clubmate Katharine Shields was fifth in her novice arena.

In a very strong elite dressage championship won by Holly Kerslake of the Lamerton Hunt branch on 67%, the Iveaghs’ Roisin Muirhead finished third (59%) on the 10-year-old dun gelding Dunsallen.

Also representing the Iveaghs, Lynne Clarke-Hearty won her arena before placing eighth in the intermediate ride-off with the 11-year-old Obelix mare Homegrown Lexi.

The best results at novice level came in arena F where Katy O’Hare of the Iveagh branch finished third on Glenkyle Beaver, just ahead of the Mid-Antrims’ Kirstin Thom riding Cloonlee Red River.