FOUR judges were on duty at last Saturday’s North Munster Region show in Garranemore Equestrian where the highest graded score, 72.83%, was awarded by Marie Hennessy (List 2) in the Novice DI24A to Laura Hagger.

The Category 3 rider topped the overall leaderboard with her 158cms Oldenburg mare Newton Devadasi, a 10-year-old by Danciano who was performing at an DI fixture for just the second time. The pairing scored 67.24% in the DI21 where five other combinations came before Elena Satalkina (List 4) whose overall winner was Emma Dair riding her seven-year-old Cornaroya Roman mare Castle Ellis Esmeralda (68.28).

Ana Hughes struck twice at Elementary level, winning the Satalkina-judged 10-runner DI51 on her 12-year-old bay gelding Ballyhane Billy (68.52%) and the DI56A where Hennessy awarded Hughes and her 16-year-old Lancelot gelding Sligo Dark Knight a score of 64.84 which was a good bit higher than their sole opponents.

Hennessy’s other overall Graded winners were Ally Gabbett on the 12-year-old Connemara gelding Dunguaire Mick (67.86% in the Preliminary DI5A), David Raeburn on the unregistered Irish Sport Horse mare Knocka Drom Doreen (62.73 in the Medium DI67), Lucy Cusack with her 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Kirktown (63.68 in the Advance Medium/FEI Junior individual test in which she was the sole starter) and Tara Dalton on her Ukranian Warmblood gelding Burgomistr (64.12 in the three-runner Advanced Medium DI90).

Having competed at Preliminary level, Marian Slattery (List 3A) judged two classes. The first of these was the Medium DI65 where two of the four riders, Virginia Bibes (Kontador) and Michaela Steyn Keating (JJ Lady Gregory), scored 62.03%, Bibes with the higher collective score (44 to 43) on her 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Googel.

Three combinations appeared before Slattery in the Advanced Medium/FEI Junior team test where her winners on 64.55% were the above-mentioned Lucy Cusack and Kirktown.