BRITISH Dressage List 1 judge Andrew Bennie officiated at Saturday’s Dressage Ireland Eastern Region show at Marlton, where the organisers not only catered for DI members but also for Eventing Ireland members heading to Millstreet for this week’s international horse trials.

Bennie judged 14 classes, facing his largest field of four in the FEI Eventing 2* class, where he awarded his highest score (71.82%) to Anna Radford with her mother Maria’s 15-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare Essenar Double Dutch. This combination is competing in the CCIP2*-S at Millstreet.

Only two started in the FEI Eventing 1* class, where the narrow winner on 67.83% was Oisin Phelan riding his father John’s seven-year-old ISH gelding Killahara Ailbhe. This pair is competing in the weekend’s CCI1* Intro.

There were two combinations also in the FEI Junior classes, where the winner of both was Ballinasloe’s Rebecca McGrath with her mother Sinead’s 14-year-old British-bred mare Summersong Caledonia. McGrath and the 14-year-old Sandro Hit bay scored 69.85 in the Team Test and 72.94 in the Individual. In the FEI Pony classes, there were uncontested wins for Isobell Linnane on the Dutch Warmblood gelding Don Dimaro, a 10-year-old dun by Don Cremello du Bois, who was awarded scores of 67.57 (Team Test) and 66.89 (Individual).

Gilly Crawford recorded a cross-Grade double with her 10-year-old ISH mare Majestic Heartbreaker (Womanizer - Flojo, by Mr Majestic), scoring 70.57 in the Advanced DI101, in which she was the only starter, and 68.97 in the Prix St Georges, where she faced one rival. There was also just one starter in the other Advanced class, the DI100, and that was Isobel Linnane with the 15-year-old ISH mare B Posy (Ramiro B - Harle, by Harlequin du Carel).

Gilly Crawford and Majestic Heartbreaker \ Louise O'Brien Photography

Emily Kate Robinson recorded uncontested wins twice before Bennie with her 17-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Edvaard, achieving 66.18 in the Inter I and 60.88 in the Inter II on the bay son of Christ, while Marguerite Kavanagh was the sole starter in the Grand Prix with her KWPN-registered gelding Danciano SR (66.52), an 18-year-old Lanciano bay.

It was a pity that just two riders made entries in the Bennie-judged young horse section - Ellen Carroll, who scored 66 with her four-year-old ISH gelding Pumpkins Fancy (Lancedor LS - Cloongowla Lady, by Ard Grandpa), and Sonya McCormack, who scored 75 with her five-year-old Oldenburg mare Sosha Jakama (by Taurus).

Bernie Webb (List 2) judged the Medium and Advanced Medium classes. Her winner at the lower level was Sara Glynn with her 10-year-old home-bred ISH mare Granny Jeans Unicorn (Jack Of Diamonds - Killossery Ringwood, by Touchdown), who achieved a score of 68.29 in the six-runner DI77 and 69.33 in the DI73, in which there were five starters.

Ruth Hayes saw off the same two rivals when topping Webb’s leaderboard in both the DI90 (69.26) and the DI95 (70.69), with Sue Chadwick’s seven-year-old liver chesnut mare Foxy Lady R (by For Gold).

Two horses not registered with DI impressed Ruth Daunt. The Jasper Kelly-partnered 10-year-old ISH mare Agatha Raisin (OBOS Quality 004 - Ballyquirke Brigade, by Clover Brigade) topped the List 4 judge’s overall leaderboard in the five-strong Elementary E55, while the Rebecca O’Toole-ridden Saale Hit, a 19-year-old Hanoverian gelding by Sandro Hit, did so in the Novice DI24A (70). There were six starters in both classes.

Daunt judged seven combinations in the Preliminary DI16, awarding her highest score (68.60) to Ciara Kelly riding her father Edward’s 10-year-old ISH mare Fanlehane Nariah (Sibon W - Rossaguile Q, by Castlecomer Q). At the same level, Lisa O’Brien (List 6) had the same pairing at the top of her overall leaderboard on 73.46 in the DI6, in which there were 17 starters.