JANE Whitaker (List 1) and Jean Halpenny (List 3) were the judges engaged for last Sunday’s Midlands and Western Region show at the Annaharvey Farm home of secretary/organiser, and the day’s photographer, Aisling Deverell.

Halpenny judged the two graded Preliminary classes and had Abbie Jane Weston and the unregistered Clondanagh Holly at the top of both overall leaderboards. In the 10-strong DI15 in the short arena, Halpenny awarded Weston and the 17-year-old chesnut mare a score of 69.11% while they achieved 68.54 in the DI18 in which there were eight starters.

Both judges were agreed on their winner of the Novice classes, Category 1 rider Niamh Macken. She partnered her Irish Draught gelding, Diamond King Henry, a 10-year-old son of King Alton, to score 66.38 in the Halpenny-assessed DI21 and 67 in the DI24A judged by Whitaker. Halpenny’s winner of the sole Trailblazers’ class (DI Preliminary 15) was Lily Brennan on board the unregistered Longfield Pearl (65.54).

Whitaker judged the remaining classes, including the two at Elementary level. Here, her overall winner of the seven-runner DI51 was Sara Wood with her part-bred Connemara, Avalon Next Generation (66.85), a nine-year-old bay gelding by Glencarrig Joe. Third overall there on 65.19, Jenny Heffernan and her home-bred ISH gelding Lyra Solovey ran out narrow winners of the six-strong DI55 where she and her six-year-old Feinrich bay scored 66.96 as did Laura Guinan and 20-year-old Connemara gelding Coolrahnee Joy who had to settle for second on comparative scores (61 to 60.5).

Cassandra Morris, who was one of the riders at the previous weekend’s judges’ gala with Lots of Joy, partnered that Dutch Warmblood gelding to see off her sole rival in the Medium DI65 when scoring 67.97 and then recorded an uncontested victory in the Para Grade V test on her dark brown son of Negro.

There were uncontested wins also for the home-based Maeve Deverell and the home-bred Annaharvey Firefly, a 12-year-old bay by Floriscount, and for Tracy Murphy with the Dutch Warmblood gelding Kennedy, a 10-year-old dark bay gelding by Future.

The Midlands and Western Region are holding another show tomorrow at Drummindoo Stud.