A VERY successful Connolly’s Red Mills qualifier was staged by the Co Limerick Branch of the Irish Pony Club last Sunday at Ballycahane, Crecora, where landowner Ger Furnell built the cross-country course and Kevin Bartley was the show jumping course builder.

“We were delighted with the entry of 167 and there were a lot of new faces among competitors which was great to see,” reported organiser Catherine Noonan. “We had showers on and off all day but plenty of heat as well so everyone dried off quickly enough. The cross-country course rode well with no one fence proving a bogey.”

The host branch’s Caoimhe Murphy recorded the only double clear to land the four-runner open class where, riding her Eventing Ireland junior one-star mount, Tiktok Copper, she added 4.80 cross-country time penalties to her winning dressage score of 29.4.

Show jumping clears were few and far between at intermediate level. In section A, Tipperary’s Ruth MacDonald picked up eight penalties over the coloured poles but, thanks to her good dressage mark of 25.6, took the honours on the eight-year-old piebald mare Fraggle.

DOUBLE

Georgina Murray brought up a double for the Tipperary branch when claiming section B on her dressage score of 24.8 with the Connemara gelding Breaffy Boy II, a 13-year-old gelding by the jumping sire Castleside JJ.

The United branch was on the mark in the novice intermediate where, a very good dressage score of 18.8 declared Taylor Long the winner despite completing on the same score of 22.40 as Co Limerick’s Danielle Magner on the six-year-old Sanglamore gelding Clonshire Troika.

Long partnered the five-year-old Ballygriffin Autonomous, a bay gelding by Chacoa out of the Easy Lift mare Curraghchase Lady, whose four-year-old, Willows Peeping Pocket (also by Chacoa), has qualified for the young event horse class at Dublin.

Curraghchase Lady is a full sister to Michael Ryan’s international three-star ride Tomgar Rembrandt.

Waterford’s Sadhbh Bolger followed up her victory at Kilguilkey House by narrowly landing section A of the junior division on her winning dressage score of 25.4 with Prince Dukey Diamond, a five-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding by Diamond Jackie.

Over from North Kilkenny, Owen de Pelsmaeker and the nine-year-old appaloosa gelding Rasor Sharp just held on to claim section B when adding 1.60 cross-country time penalties to their winning flatwork mark of 23.8.

The United Branch brought up a double when Sarah Rohan won section A of the under-12 division with the 17-year-old palomino gelding Cottage Cat Baloo, while the hosts rounded off the day with a second success through Luke Cahill and the nine-year-old chesnut gelding Condor in section B.

VERY POPULAR

Tomorrow, the very popular Co Laois qualifier is being staged at Stradbally with the Killinicks holding their annual mid-week qualifier at Sleedagh Farm, Murrintown on Wednesday.

In Northern Ireland, the Area 17 dressage trials take place today at Ballyarnett where they are being hosted by the North Derry branch.