THE Northern Region of Eventing Ireland held the third and final leg of their 2026 Tyrella season last Saturday when quite surprisingly, but following very heavy mid-week rain, the going was soft in places.

The new regional cross-country course builder Andrew Napier has certainly put his own mark on the venue and, for each of the three weeks and with great help from family members, he has produced increasingly challenging tracks which, on Saturday, did cause a few problems.

“Andrew did an amazing job,” commented Sarah Ennis, who won two classes on her second visit to the Co Down estate this year. “He asked some really good questions and the cross-country phase had an effect on the results as it should. As ever, Dora (Beacom, event secretary) and her team were so nice and so organised.”

Before the eventing community bid adieu to Tyrella to move on to Vesey Lodge (Saturday, May 2nd), John and Hannah Corbett kindly opened up their wonderful seaside venue for a Go-As-You-Please on Sunday.

Providing opportunities for higher graded horses, the NR advertised three classes at EI115 level on Saturday, but disappointingly, perhaps because of the proximity of Ballindenisk and/or the scheduled clash with Crecora, there were only 15 starters in total.

On her second visit north this season, Sarah Ennis landed the four-runner Advanced class on her winning dressage score (27.9 penalties) with the Irish Sport Horse mare OnceUponATime, who was on a confidence-building mission having slipped up on the flat six days earlier at Lisgarvan House.

The 10-year-old daughter of Barely A Moment was home-bred by her owner, Deirdre Connolly, out of the Maltstriker mare Monicas Dream whose 2017 gelding, Cooley Cormint (by Cormint), won a division of the Intermediate at Burham Market on Saturday. OnceUponATime is one of three horses Ennis is riding in the CCI4*-S at Ballindenisk this weekend.

Daragh Byrne made a winning seasonal debut when landing the six-strong EI115 (Open) on his third-place dressage score (29.5) with Madeleine Lloyd-Webber’s home-bred British Sport Horse gelding Teachers Pet, a 10-year-old bay by Chilli Morning. This combination is also competing at Ballindenisk, but in the CCI3*-S.

Despite being one second over the time in the show jumping ring, Clare Abbott recorded a comfortable success in the five-runner EI115 with the ISH gelding MT Kenobis Touch (34.3) who, too, is among the entries at the Fell family’s Co Cork venue, but in the CCI2*-L. The seven-year-old Mullaghdrin Touch The Stars bay is owned by Jacqueline and David Wright plus Abbott’s partner Gareth Carlisle, who bred the winner out of the Lux Z mare Lux So Easy.

Ennis was pleased with three of her four rides in the EI110, but especially with the ISH mare Fenyas Email who recorded an impressive all-the-way win, despite the addition of 0.4 of a show jumping time penalty for a total of 24.2. Home-bred by her owner PJ Hegarty out of his good showing and eventing mare Fenyas Elegance (by Ricardo Z), the six-year-old Jaguar Mail mare is bypassing Ballindenisk for Millstreet with a seasonal target of Le Lion d’Angers in October.

Unfortunately, Ennis’s Lisgarvan House winner Ordonnay, who was on 27 penalties after dressage had an off day when it came to the jumping phases and was retired following two stops across the country.

Steven Smith rode three of the seven starters in the EI110 (Open). Unfortunately, he jumped the wrong side of the B element of fence four (table/piano keys) on the cross-country course with Newferry Jagermeister, who went into the phase on his Rosie Gomes-awarded dressage score of 16.8 penalties.

Not to worry, the Gilford rider finished first on his amazing flat work score of 12.8 with his own seven-year-old Lancelot gelding Lachain Lance, a winner of the 21-runner EI110 here last month, and finished second on the similarly-aged Diamond Roller gelding You Neek (16.3).