THE North Munster Region of Dressage Ireland held the first of four legs of their summer league last Sunday at the Tipperary Equestrian Centre outside Thurles, where the judging duties were divided between Jane Whitaker (List 1) and Marian Slattery (List 3A).
Down from north Co Dublin, Whitaker awarded her highest score of the day (69.84%) in the five-runner Medium DI65, a league qualifier. Here, her overall leaderboard was topped by Horse Sport Ireland’s dressage high performance manager Anne Marie Dunphy riding her six-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare Pedigree OK (Le Formidable - Lets Go, by Ferguson).
Whitaker judged the two Advanced Medium classes and had the same winner in both. Her overall leaderboard in the league qualifier, the DI95, was topped by Tracy Murphy with her Dutch Warmblood gelding Kennedy (Future - Wianannie, by Olivi). There were four starters in that class and in the DI90, where Murphy and her dark bay 16-year-old claimed the win on 66.32.
The same three combinations contested the two Advanced classes but, at this level, Whitaker had two different winners.
In the league qualifier, the DI101, the honours on 66% went to Evie Kennedy riding her mother Maeve’s Spanish-bred gelding Cordobes XXXVI, a 23-year-old Jardon grey. In the DI100, Lucy Cusack came out on top with her Dutch Warmblood gelding Kirktown (65.29), a tall, 11-year-old by Uptown.
Also before Whitaker, Simone Hession recorded an uncontested victory in the league-qualifying FEI Intermediate I on her home-bred Irish Draught gelding Beezies Double Diamond (61.91), a 20-year-old Gentle Diamond grey, as did Sue Smallman in the FEI Grand Prix with her Dutch Warmblood gelding Gloriant H (61.30), a 15-year-old Uphill chesnut.
Lucy Hope Ryan recorded an uncontested double before Marian Slattery. She opened her account in the FEI Pony Team Test on board the Dutch-bred Diamand Anfody (65.14). This 16-year-old mare by Klein Roderijs Cocktail is dam of two ISH-registered produce, viz DA Golden Haze (a five-year-old gelding by Lagans OBOS Quality) and BV Elspeth (a three-year-old filly by Glocks Dream Boy).
Ryan brought up her double in the FEI Eventing 2* B test, where she scored 62.67 with the 10-year-old skewbald mare Pretty Patterns on whom, with a fence down show jumping, she had finished sixth of 12 in the CCIP2-S at Ballindenisk the previous weekend.
Whitaker shared the judging duties in the Novice, Elementary and Medium classes with Marian Slattery.
The pair agreed at Novice level where Whitaker’s overall leaderboard in the three-runner DI27A was topped on 68.45 by Niamh Macken and her Irish Draught gelding Diamond King Henry. In the Slattery-judged DI24A, in which there were five starters, Macken and her 11-year-old King Alton bay came out on top on a score of 70.17.
Whitaker’s winner (on 68.17) of the three-runner Elementary DI55, a league qualifier, was Claire Farrell with her French thoroughbred Renneti. At Punchestown the previous Tuesday, Farrell and the 17-year-old Irish Wells gelding took part in a dressage display on the racetrack alongside Emily Kate Robinson and A Plus Tard.
Slattery awarded her highest score of the day at this level when her overall leaderboard in the five-strong DI55 was comfortably topped on 72.04 by Rosemary Gaffney with her Dutch Warmblood mare Norabel, an eight-year-old daughter of Just Whimphof. This combination also recorded a comprehensive success on 67.12 before the same judge in the Medium DI67.
Slattery began her day judging the Preliminary section where, due to withdrawals, she had only one partnership to assess in the DI5A, awarding a score of 70% to Grainne Murphy with her Portuguese Sport Horse gelding Ravi. Murphy and her chesnut five-year-old by Valerde then saw off three rivals to win the DI8 on 65.96.
There were four starters also in the DI15, where Slattery awarded her overall winning score of 66.43 to Jennifer Haverty on board her traditionally-bred ISH gelding Iceford Diamond (Gentle Diamond - Joes Girl, by Ginger Dick).