WIN or lose, those members of Tir Conaill who made the long journey down from north-west Donegal to Freshford, Co Kilkenny last weekend were determined to enjoy themselves and had scheduled a night’s stopover in Carrick-On-Shannon on the way home on Sunday.

Happily, once their horses were safely stabled, the night turned into a proper celebration as the six riders had left the Connolly’s Red Mills/Association of Irish Riding Clubs’ national hunter trials championships at Nuenna Farm with three wins to their credit, including two individual championships, plus a number of placings.

Mark Ward and his daughter Leah claimed the two titles, the former doing so at RC100 level when finishing closest to the optimum time on his Irish Sport Horse mare Wild Child. Ward, who works in a local seafood factory, has ridden the 16-year-old skewbald daughter of S Creevagh Ferro for the past eight years, mainly in Riding Club show jumping competitions.

Champion

Leah, who only joined the Riding Club movement this year once turning 17, won the RC90 championship as she finished a second closer to the optimum time than Thomastown and District’s Gillian Cody on Lisbrien Boy.

Leah, who is in fifth year at Rosses Community School, was on board the 18-year-old ISH gelding Good Greycious, an Emoe Berti grey she started riding about four years ago.

The champion’s mother, and Tir Conaill PRO, Patricia Ward, a special needs assistant who finished fourth here on Prince Cara Touche, commented: “We had a fantastic weekend, well worth the six-hour journey each way. Mark had a great day as he and Stephen Greene, who finished third in the RC100 championship on Indian Puzzle, joined forces to win the RC100 open pairs’ competition.

“We were initially disappointed that the championships weren’t being held at Flowerhill but the track at Nuenna Farm (designed by Jill Dillon) was really good as was the ground. We are now turning our attention to the West Region’s Premier Performance RDS team show jumping qualifier at Tubberbride early next month.”

Nuenna Farm’s Claire Holohan and Steff Lady were joint-winners of the RC 80 at the Connolly Red Mills AIRC National Hunter Trials Championship \ Justin Black Horse Sport Images

Divide

There was a divide for the title in the RC80 championship. The optimum time had been set at 6m 48secs which was exactly that recorded by Nuenna Farm’s Claire Holohan on her ISH mare Steff Lady, a 10-year-old bay by Greenhall, and Kilotteran’s Olive Kenneally riding her year younger ISH mare Lady Of The Mill (by Trump Hero).

Picking up more rosettes and prizes, Leah and Patricia Ward teamed up to finish fourth in the RC90 open pairs’ competition which was won by the mixed duo of Anvil chairman Kevin O’Meara (Garranturton Hollys Clover) and Slieve Bloom’s Katelyn Doughan (Star Of Apollo).

On board the same Irish Draught mare, O’Meara had earlier landed the RC80 open pairs’ class in the company of another Slieve Bloom member, and secretary, Mary Hogan (Roden Ruby).

There were just eight starters in the day’s non-championship young horse competition for four and five-year-olds where the honours were claimed by Earl’s Well’s Fiona Coughlan on her five-year-old skewbald gelding Carrahane John 2.