YOUNG riders in Northern Ireland had a choice of venue if they wished to do competitive cross-country riding last Saturday.

Those who are members of The Pony Club tackled the Area 17 eventing at Dirraw Farm while those who are not, or are waiting for the Home Championships, headed to Tullylish for the Eventing Ireland Northern Region two-phase event.

A common denominator at both was Adam Stevenson who worked with the Routes’ joint-District Commissioner Fred White and landowner Alan Campbell to design and build the cross-country tracks at Dirraw Farm and who, of course, was responsible for the courses at his family’s Co Armagh venue which attracted a large group of spectators.

Commenting on the Dirraw Farm fixture, Area representative Fran Rowlatt-McCormick said: “It was a lovely day in the sunshine at another beautiful Area 17 venue.

“Adam Stevenson, Fred White and Alan Campbell built a flowing, natural cross-country course, with 18 to 20 jump combinations, which proved surprisingly testing. Those who completed and achieved qualifying spots for the national and regional championships in August will have been well-educated.

“We are incredibly grateful for all the help from Area 17 Branches and the Route Hunt committee who worked so hard setting up and pulling everything together.”

Most disappointingly, there were just two starters and one finisher in the PC110, East Antrim’s Erin McCrea riding Eisfee, but the other four levels were mainly well-supported.

A mixed quartet of Mid Antrim’s Hannah Thompson, East Down’s Emily Turley and the North Down pair of Zara Reid and Lauren McGlennon won the PC100 team competition with Thompson claiming the individual honours on board her traditionally-bred Irish Sport Horse mare Jemeela Charm.

With no discard score, the Killultagh, Old Rock & Chichester trio of Isabella Irwin, Annabel McKeown and Amelia Irwin did extremely well to win the PC90 team competition. The individual winners at this level were East Antrim’s Eve Lindsay riding the Connemara gelding Glenomore Tom and North Down’s Aoife Davis on the 21-year-old chesnut gelding Oldtown Starling.

Route Branch members and supporters were rewarded for all the work they put into organising this Area competition when their White trio of Caitlin McFadden, Caitlin Weatherup and Enya McLaughlin won the PC80 team competition while their red quartet of Maisie Lyons, Eva McCafferty, Grace Elliott and Grace Neely finished second.

McLaughlin topped the Section B individual leaderboard on the 13-year-old bay gelding Tisrara Captain but the win in Section A went to the Iveaghs’ Ella McCrory on the 13-year-old grey gelding Bobby Dazzler. The Route did record another individual success through Leah Hanson who partnered Shadows Hulk to victory in the PC70 Plus class.

A mixed quartet of North Down’s Anna Greeves, East Antrim’s Cynthia Jane O’Brien and Tullylagan members Erin Bate and Caitlin Timoney fought off the challenge of four others to win the PC70 team competition. The North Derry Branch got on the scoreboard when Lucy Kirkwood landed the 19-runner individual competition at this level on board Dominoes Way.

Tullylish

At Tullylish, the opening 1.10m class was won by 15-year-old Kitty Cullen with Jane Hancock’s 16-year-old Coppenagh Spring Sparrow on whom she won twice and was placed second three times from five starts in the spring. One of those seconds was in the CCIP2-L at Millstreet which rounded off their first half of the season.

Among the many adults competing, David O’Connor took a break from course-building at Tullymurry to fill the runner-up spot here on the 10-year-old Lancelot mare Twice The Spice.

The 1m class went the way of Wendy Findlay on her home-bred Hill Farm Pebble, an eight-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare by Centre Stage; Bea Browne topped the final leaderboard in the very well-supported 90cm class riding Dartry Ranger, the Connemara gelding by by Crusheen Comet on whom she has a lot of success in working hunters; and Jessica Perry landed the 80cm class on the 10-year-old piebald gelding Vinchy.

Jessica Perry and Vinchy winning the 80cm class at Tullylish two-phase event \ Anne Hughes

Eventing Ireland-affiliated action in the Northern Region recommences today at The Clare to where the Region will return on Saturday, July 26th following visits to Tullymurry on July 12th and 19th between times.