SOME showers hit CoilÓg last Saturday and Sunday as the Leinster Region staged its Botanica Summer Festival at the Byrne family’s Co Kildare equestrian centre. Thankfully, however, the heavy rain stayed away until after the mounted prize-giving ceremony on Sunday.

Botanica’s Sean Cooney attended the second session of the Festival to present the championship prizes to the winners, among them Marlton Stud’s Josephine Delahoyde who landed the Big Tour with her mother Barbara’s Dutch Warmblood gelding Barroso.

Delahoyde and the 16-year-old son of Bordeaux scored 67.555% in Saturday’s Derek Whyte Planning Consultant Grand Prix, which was judged by British Dressage List 1 judges Maria Eilberg and Mark Ruddock, chairman of Dressage Ireland, and 67.555 in Sunday’s FEI Grand Prix Special where they came before Joanne Jarden and Michael Moore, both List 1 with DI.

“It has been a busy week for us!” commented Delahoyde. “On Tuesday and Wednesday, we were in Wellington for a Premier league show, where we had two solid performances to finish in the top 10 and top 15. I’d like to thank Leinster Dressage for a fabulous show and Botanica for their amazing sponsorship. I also want to thank my whole team, because it really takes a big and united team to pull off the week we did and this result is testament to that.”

Up from Co Limerick, Tara Oliver was second in the Grand Prix with Furst Romance (65.38), but won both the Eilberg and Ruddock-judged BHS Training Ireland Prix St George on Saturday (237) and the Moore and Jarden-judged Derek Whyte Planning Consultant Inter 1 on Sunday (228.75) on board her 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding Senators Rhonaldo.

Oliver’s sister Aimee was one of four riders to record uncontested Freestyle wins on Sunday, hers coming at Novice level with her 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Love The Difference (70.83). Joint show secretary/organiser along with Petra Larkin, Lorna O’Hare achieved a score of 68.83 in the Medium Freestyle with her 18-year-old chesnut gelding DBS Second Chance, while Barbara Ellison partnered her nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare Moonlight in the Advanced Medium Freestyle where they scored 60.83.

The Festival’s Para champion was Heather Lemmon Kiely with her 15-year-old roan mare Ladychapel Narnia. They scored 71.04 in Saturday’s Grade 1 Grand Prix test A and 68.54 in Sunday’s Grade 1 Grand Prix test B, after which they achieved a score of 71.83 in the Grade 1 Grand Prix Freestyle.