THERE was a disappointing entry for the young horse championships which were held last Friday week, day one of the Barron Transport Dressage Ireland Senior National Championships at Castle Irvine, Necarne.

Mentioned elsewhere, the South East Region’s Caroline Lynch saw off three rivals when winning the Aqualogic four-year-old championship on her Gerard Fallon-bred Irish Draught gelding Rebel Bandit (Rebel Mountain - Bramblebrough Aisling, by Dubeggan Grey Mist), on whom she finished fourth in the Category 2 Preliminary championship.

Lynch also occupied second place on her Connemara gelding Slieve Boy, a Classiebawn Hughs Promise grey, with whom she finished sixth in the green hunter final for four-year-olds at Clifden on Thursday.

Co Kildare-based Sonya McCormack topped the final leaderboard in the five-runner Southern Fuel five-year-old championship on her Oldenburg mare Sosha Jakama. She and the tall black daughter of Taurus also contested the Elementary Category 3 championship where they finished second.

There was an uncontested win in the Tullyraine Veterinary six-year-old championship for the recent AMD Athlete Bursary winner Hannah Lynam on the tall dark bay Hanoverian mare Dark Diamond (by Donnersmarck).

It was a similar story in the Barron Transport seven and eight-year-old championship, where the sole starter was the South East Region’s Ruth Hayes with Sue Chadwick’s Foxy Lady R. Hayes and this 2019 Westphalian daughter of For Gold had to see off five challengers en route to victory in the MP Crowley Category 3 Advanced Medium championship.

These young horse championships were judged by British Dressage’s Moira Richardson (List 2) and Dressage Ireland’s Michael Moore (List 1).

Understandably, with the Irish interest in the World Championships in Aachen, there was little in the Para section here, with only two entries in total for the eight advertised classes.

Karen Burke was the sole starter in the Grade V Novice with Secret Desire HW, her seven-year-old Westphalian gelding by Secret, while Cassandra Morris recorded her uncontested victory in the Grade V Intermediate on board Lots Of Joy.

This was in contrast to the SVS Equine Category 2 Medium championship, where Morris and her 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Negro had to fend off 16 rivals who were headed, some way adrift, by Sara Glynn on the ISH mare Granny Jeans Unicorn (220.875), her 10-year-old home-bred grey by Jack Of Diamonds.