THE South Munster Region of Dressage Ireland held the final of their O’Briens Saddlery league last Sunday at Maryville Stables in advance of which the committee issued some weather-related rulings, instructions and advice.
The show attracted 110 entries with some local event riders using this fixture as a warm-up for Millstreet. The programme of classes ran efficiently on the day as there is a new arena at the Co Cork venue which took the pressure off the established rings.
Twelve of the 25 classes had league status and Elena Satalkina (List 4) judged five of these.
She awarded her highest score (76%) to Lily McLaughlin who recorded an uncontested win in the Trailblazers’ Under 12 class on the 17-year-old Welsh cob Camarnaint Rambler.
Satalkina’s other league class winners were Peter O’Hara on Limited Edition (69.71 in the Trailblazers’ Mini class), Lararose O’Regan with My Barbie (65.36 Trailblazers Junior), Ruth Walsh on Candlefort King (70 Intro C) and Madeline McSweeney with Rosscon Faye (64.82 Junior Preliminary).
Ann Glynn (List 3a) also assessed those forward in five of the league classes, facing her largest field of seven in the Novice 27A where her overall leaderboard was topped by Michaela Steyn Keating with her seven-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion O’Neal From Second Life (69.83).
Also topping her overall leaderboard in league classes were Stephanie Cunningham on Ballymacadam BFM Lily (68.65 Preliminary 6), Aoife Collins on Sopwith Pup (68.67 Junior Preliminary) and Laura Hagger with Annaharvey Firefly (68.71 Medium 77). Hagger also won (67.33) the non league Medium 73 on Aisling Deverell’s 13-year-old ISH mare by Floriscount.
Two of the league classes came under the scrutiny of Joan Ahern (List 2) whose comfortable overall winner of the Elementary 55 was Category 3 rider Rosemary Gaffney with her eight-year-ol Dutch Warmblood mare Norabel (71.79). There was just one starter in the Advanced league class (the DI101), Angela Lyons earning a score of 64.71 for her test on the eight-year-old Hanoverian gelding Woodcroft Santa Cruz. This combination also won the Glynn-judged Advanced Medium league class (DI95) on 66.67.
One of the other doubles on the day was recorded by Sheila Corrigan on her 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Quintin (Ghareeb – Lady Of Ennis, by Mark Twain) in non-league classes. The pair scored 67.9 in the Satalkina-judged five-runner Novice 23 and 57.33 in the Ahern-judged Elementay 53 where they were the only starters.
On 68.47, Rosemary Gaffney brought up a double on Norabel in the Glynn-judged FEI Para Grade IV Grand Prix A in which they too were the only starters. The largest field of the day contested the non-league Preliminary 5a where Elena Satalkina’s overall leaderboard was topped on 70% by Amy Kennedy with her 21-year-old grey gelding Tall Tales.
The same judge assessed the three combinations forward in the Association of Irish Riding Clubs Preliminary 7 and awarded them all scores over 70%. The winner on 72.29 was Emma Mangan, chair of East Cork Riding Club, on board her nine-year-old Connemara gelding Glentrague Melody (I Love You Melody – Bay Lady, by Kylemore Rocky).