FOR the first time in nearly three years, an Eventing Ireland Northern Region one-day was staged last Saturday at Dirraw Farm, Alan and Muriel Campbell’s pristine, organic homestead on the outskirts of Finvoy.
With so many regular competitors at Lisgarvan, Scone Palace or further afield, there was a very small entry for the graded classes but this was more than compensated for on Bank Holiday Monday when hordes of members of Area 17 of The Pony Club descended on Dirraw Farm for their home championships.
Lucca Stubington, who had less of a journey north than many others on Saturday, made the most of the restricted numbers to claim the top two spots in the highest-graded class, the six-strong EI110. The Sweet Wall Eventing stable jockey led after dressage on Glencarne (28.3) but, having show jumped clear, picked up 12.4 cross-country time penalties on that seven-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding while she was much faster on Ballyneety Cavalier Imp whose winning total of 36.4 included 4.4 for time on the final leg.
Lucca Stubington won the EI110 at Dirraw with Ballyneety Cavalier Imp \ Anne Hughes
Happy to sell her
Also seven, this ISH mare by Cavalier Land was previously owned and ridden by Sarah Sproule whose final EI appearance on the bay was when winning the EI110 at Hazeldene this day last year. This season, Ballyneety Cavalier Imp is being produced by Stubington for Kevin and Anna Ross who, as bloodstock agents, would be more than happy to sell her on.
On her third ride of the day, in the 13-runner EI90, Stubington finished second on Sheelagh Kennedy’s very consistent home-bred ISH mare Magic Clementine, a Tolan R six-year-old who led after dressage but had a pole down show jumping for a total of 27. Victoria Clarke claimed the honours when completing on her flat work mark with Kerry Finlay’s ISH gelding The Ladies Choice (25.8), a seven-year-old bay by OBOS Quality 004.
Back to form
Disappointingly, Co Meath’s Kirsty Greene missed out on a trip to Strzegom as a member of the Junior squad but it’s great to see her mother Clare’s eight-year-old ISH gelding Corbally Mountain View back to top form as they recorded an uncontested win in the EI110 (J). It was a similar story in the EI100 (P) for Isabella Irwin and the nine-year-old black mare Molly XX.
Denis Currie and Merlot clear the birch drop at Finvoy where they won the EI110(Amateur) class \ Anne Hughes
There were two starters in the EI110 (Amateur), but just the one finisher, Denis Currie with his ultra-consistent new ride for this season, the 15-year-old ISH gelding Merlot (by Lancelot). Both starters completed in the EI100 (J) where there was a win, on their dressage score, on their second EI start for Sophia Bingham and ‘Harley’, a seven-year-old ISH gelding by Elvis Ter Putte.
Four combinations contested the EI100 (Amateur) but only two completed headed by Katie McKee on Summit, her 12-year-old ISH gelding by Je t’Aime Flamenco. The rider later doubled up in the three-runner EI90 (Amateur), where she and her 10-year-old skewbald gelding Water Paint (35 penalties) held off Claire Killen and her Connemara mare Dunluce Aoife (37.5).
Caryn Walker led after dressage in the 11-strong EI100 but, with a fence down show jumping, dropped to fourth with her home-bred 10-year-old ISH mare Newferry Eustonov (32).
Completing on their Martina McKinley-awarded flat work marks to finish first and second were Holly Milligan on Our Springhill Hot Toddy (28.3), a six-year-old ISH gelding by Bernhard, and Neil Morrison with the EI newcomer Patcherson (30.5), a seven-year-old skewbald gelding by Road To Happiness. Andrew Greer was a second over the time across the country with his 10-year-old OBOS Quality 004 mare Sharp Object (31.2).
Cross-country time penalties (1.6) proved costly for the dressage winners in the EI90 (P), Rachel Booth on Melview Chester, as they had to settle for second (31.9) behind 15-year-old Victoria Grieves and the year-older Euro Sometime gelding Twister d’Euro (30.5), who had nothing to add to their first-phase score.
Holly Milligan and Our Springhill Hot Toddy winning EI100 at Finvoy \ Anne Hughes
The seven-starter EI80 was won by the only combination to complete on their dressage score, Ana Goodrich and the Irish Sport Pony gelding Broadleas Chase (32.5), a 10-year-old grey son of Moores Clover who was having just his third EI start.