SUNDAY’s fourth leg of the Eventing Ireland Western Region’s combined training league at the Milchem Equestrian Centre of chairman Ralph Conroy produced some interesting results, which had an effect on the nationwide Plusvital spring series.

In search of Plusvital points, two young riders from the South Leinster Region, Maya Byrne and Lucy Ferris, travelled west to the Tynagh venue where they finished first and second in the 11-runner CT90 class, ahead of the more locally-based Jed Dillon with Dartans Jack Flash (26.75 penalties).

On board her mother Mary’s 10-year-old Connemara gelding How Ya Sammy, Ferris held the lead following the dressage phase judging of Elena Satalkina. However, she and the Woodfield Sammy bay picked up a costly four penalties when lowering one of the coloured poles on the Conroy-built show jumping track for a total of 26.25.

This error allowed Byrne to move up from second to first on 22.5 with the clean-jumping Tranquil Master (Kings Master - Tremwell, by King’s Theatre), an 11-year-old Traditional Irish Sport Horse gelding who was bred in Co Kildare by Rosalind Telford-Kelly. Byrne and Ferris are now tied in second place in the Plusvital CT90 league on 20 points apiece.

Home win

Milchem-based Duncan McFadyen, who finished fourth in that class on Kilnacross Orlaya Killinick (32.25), had earlier landed the CT80 on his dressage score (29.25) with the previous weekend’s winner, Niall Earls’s Womanizer Lad. He was also fifth, again on his flat work mark, with Jacks Bonnie (32.75).

Also based at Milchem, Jason Doerflinger filled the three intervening places in this 17-runner class. He finished second with Satalkina’s dressage winner Milchem Margo (32) who had a fence down show jumping, was third on Shotgun (32) and fourth with Milchem I Am (32.25).

The show jumping phase didn’t have as much of an effect in the nine-strong CT100 class, where the first six all completed on their first phase score. Saying that, Ella Kidd, who was on 29.75 after dressage, could well have done without picking up an additional four show jumping penalties on board Sandyhill Aladdin.

Filling the top three places throughout were Grace Mahon on 25.25 with Regina Hoctor’s seven-year-old ISH mare Ballycondon OBOS (OBOS Quality 004 - Corlina, by Corland), Becky Scott with her own five-year-old ISH mare RDM Ring Of The Night (27) and Clodagh McGauran with Emma Chedgey’s 10-year-old ISH mare Pippas Harlequin Lady (28).

The final leg of this Western Region combined training league takes place tomorrow then all can have a bit of a break until Sunday, March 1st when the first leg of the Region’s Starter Series takes place at the Glenamaddy Equestrian Centre.