THE Northern Region staged the only Dressage Ireland-affiliated show last weekend at Knockagh View Equestrian where this second leg of the region’s spring/summer league saw the official unveiling of series sponsor, Healy’s Haylage.

At Novice level, Alexandra Ryan recorded a remarkable double before Lucinda Webb-Graham (List 4) and Martin Moore (List 1). The former judged the six-strong DI24a where she awarded Ryan and her Connemara gelding Ambition, a nine-year-old son of Drumbad Flether Moss, a score of 68.33% which Moore then matched in the BD5 where there was one less starter. There was a considerable difference in collectives however, 60 to 41.5.

Doubles were also completed at Medium level by Amelia McFarland and her nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare Kingston Olive who scored 69.24% in the DI67 and 68 in the BD5, both judged by Moore; at Advanced Medium level, before the same judge, by Caroline Mellor and her seven-year-old Westfalian mare Ballett’s Bellissima (67.5 in the FEI junior individual test and 70.17 in the FEI Junior Preliminary test); and, in the outdoor short arena, by Ruth Cousins and the eight-year-old ISH gelding Mon Ami Beauvallet who scored 74.41 in the DI Intro B and 73.75 in the DI Preliminary 5a which were both judged by Yvonne Chisholm (List 6).

Following five withdrawals, just five combinations contested the Preliminary BD5 where the highest score (68.57%) was achieved by Debbie Cherry riding her 10-year-old roan mare Kilmullen Pebbles.

That test was judged by Webb-Graham whose overall winner of the Elementary BD5 was Joan Adrain on board her eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Mathieu.

Moore’s winner of the four-runner Elementary DI52 was Lisa Dundee with Louise Cleland’s 17-year-old Appaloosa gelding Siraxta Maverick (66.39). The only other graded class to have more than one entry was the Prix St George where Yvette Truesdale saw off her sole opponent when scoring 66.03 on Linda Telford’s 15-year-old ISH gelding Homegrown Ajax.

This weekend the focus is on the Leinster Region’s Botanica International Ltd two-day Summer Festival at CoilÓg.