OLYMPIC event rider Clare Abbott dipped into the world of pure dressage last Sunday when she competed two unregistered horses at the Northern Region’s summer league show at the Laurel View Equestrian Centre, winning on both half-siblings who were bred by her partner, Gareth Carlisle.

Abbott struck first in the eight-runner Preliminary DI6 where Corey Mawhinney (List 6) awarded her the day’s highest score (75.77%) for her test on Carlisle’s Irish Sport Horse mare MT Diacontina, a five-year-old by Diacontinus who has 17 Showjumping Ireland points.

Lucinda Webb-Graham (List 4) judged the Elementary DI51 where Abbott again saw off seven rivals, this time with MT Kenobi (75%) on whom she had finished second of 35 in an EI110 at Tyrella (4) last month. Last September, Abbott won the DAFM eventing series five-year-old final on the Mullaghdrin Touch The Stars gelding who is owned by Carlisle in partnership with Jacqueline and David Wright.

Amelia McFarlane recorded a Medium double in front of Vanda Stewart on the home-bred ISH mare Kingston Olive, a nine-year-old daughter of Sir Donnerhall I. In the seven-strong DI65, the Donegal pairing scored 67.5% while in the BD4 they saw off three rivals when achieving a score of 66.88.

Another double in front of the same judge was recorded at Advanced Medium level by Carolyn Mellor on her Westphalian mare Ballett’s Bellissima. In the four-runner DI90, Mellor and the Ballettmeister seven-year-old scored 67.65% while in the FEI Junior team test their score of 65.76 was enough to see off their sole rivals.

East Down Pony Club member Ruth Cousins won both Intro classes with Fran Rowlatt McCormick’s home-bred ISH gelding Mon Ami Beauvallet. In the Mawhinney-judged five-runner Intro A, Cousins and the eight-year-old Centre Stage bay scored 71.67% while they were awarded a score of 70 by Yvonne Chisholm (List 6) in the Intro C.

Molly Byrne won the day’s two poorly-supported dedicated Graded Junior classes with Michael Boyd’s home-bred German riding pony Rostrevor Ard Rí, a seven-year-old Rembrandt DDH gelding. They scored 69.42% to see off their sole rivals in the Mawhinney-judged Preliminary DI6 and 67.59 in the Webb-Graham judged Novice DI21 where their sole rivals retired.

Winning scores over 70% were awarded by Webb-Graham to Kristen Rose Kleinman riding the unregistered Guest (70.75) in the six-strong Preliminary BD4 and to Barbara Ellison on board her Dutch Warmblood mare O’Lilly (75.34), a six-year-old daughter of Desperado, in the 11-runner Novice DI21.