THE South East Region of Dressage Ireland staged their annual NutriScience Classic last weekend at Susanne Press’s Ballyrogan Stud outside Redcross where, despite the large entry, all classes ran on time.

Gerald Bloomer recorded the highest combined score over the two days when narrowly claiming the Novice championship on his German sport horse mare Sweet Flower (147.95), a chesnut by Secret out of Floretta d’Orion (by Falkenfuerst) who finished second in Saturday’s DAFM six-year-old class.

Second on the overall leaderboard here with Action’s Bond Girl W (147.6%), Rita Naughton and her tall, eight-year-old Oldenburg mare by Action Blue topped the Preliminary championship scores on 142.95%, comfortably seeing off her nearest challenger, and fellow Category 1 rider, Sophie Orr on board Aughnasilla Pat (139.62).

Twelve of the 18 starters completed both days at Elementary level where the title was won by Cassandra Morris riding her dark brown Dutch Warmblood gelding Lots Of Joy (140.57%), a nine-year-old by Negro out of the Krack C mare Ziroska C.

The reigning National Champion rider Carolyn Mellor saw off the challenge of five others to win the Advance Medium championship on board her Westfalian mare Ballett’s Bellissima (131.64%), her seven-year-old daughter of Ballettmeister. Narrowly beaten into second here, but the winner of Saturday’s DAFM seven and eight-year-old class, was Rachel Dowley on GFL Nava (131.51).

In the three-runner Advanced championship, Gilly Crawford held off a Northern Region challenger when, on board her Irish Sport Horse mare Majestic Heartbreaker, a nine-year-old bay by Womanizer, she scored a two-day combined total of 126.55 % compared to Karen Murray riding VSH Gangster (125.97).

Five of the eight starters completed both days of the Small Tour where Aine Ryan narrowly came out on top with her Dutch Warmblood gelding Leejoy (137.29%), her nine-year-old bay by Furstenlook, while the narrow Big Tour winner was Belinda Brereton riding her 17-year-old KWPN-registered gelding Deco (133.86).

Mentioned above, Sophie Orr and her Connemara gelding Aughnasilla Pat, who is just a four-year-old by Western Boy, won the Freestyle A (75.83%) while the Freestyle B winner was Victoria O’Carroll riding her nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood Laguna (66.17).