ORLA Roche, who owns and runs the very busy Wexford Equestrian Centre along with husband Pat Peare, has numerous roles to fill when it comes to the Stepping Stones to Success league, but early this week expanded her list of jobs to include traffic watching.

Thankfully, all had quietened down on the roads by Tuesday, so Roche could concentrate on the first points-scoring leg of the league and organise the presentation of prizes (including a €500 bridle from the sponsors for the winners of both Childèric Saddles young horse classes).

She also has to keep tabs on the points being accumulated for three special prizes, which will be presented on finals day (Tuesday, April 28th). These are the Jessica Harrington perpetual shield trophy for the leading young rider under 25, the Tiggy’s Trust perpetual trophy for the leading junior rider under 18 and the William Codd trophy, which will be presented to connections of the overall novice thoroughbred league winner.

This week’s judges at the Tomhaggard venue were Marie Hennessy (young horse dressage), Sarah-Jane Doyle (pony and thoroughbred dressage), Steve Smith (show jumping) and Gillian Kyle (cross-country).

Patrick Whelan had five rides in the opening Childèric Saddles four-year-old class, which he won on a score of 185 points with the Irish Sport Horse gelding Killycloghan Spotlight, whom he is producing for American owner Carrie Meehan of Gold To Blue Sport Horses.

The chesnut son of Z7 Seven was bred by Caroline and Craig Rountree out of the Carrick Diamond Lad mare Drumcall Carrick. He was purchased in November by Meehan and Patricia Hoey and, following the Stepping Stones league, he will be aimed at the Young Event horse Series of Dublin qualifiers.

Anna Stillwell was just one mark behind on 184 with her own La Vie Vivante. This mare by Vivant Van De Heffinck is out of a dam by A. Umonia 60 and was bred by Leah Duffy.

Cathal Daniels also had five rides on the day, placing third (183.1) here with one of three in this class, Hans Juergen Kuehnle’s home-bred ISH gelding Tullibards Talking Benny, who is by Tullibards Bennys Legacy. The bay is out of the Plot Blue mare MHS Revolver, who retired to stud with 47 ShowJumping Ireland points.

Diarmuid Ryan also had three rides in this class and he finished fourth (182.9) with Bridget Speirs’s home-bred ISH gelding BT Bon Vivant, who is a Vivant van de Heffinck half-brother to BT Just Special, who did so well for the same rider/owner combination in young horse classes as a four and five-year-old. The pair are out of the non-winning thoroughbred mare Chitter Chatter (by Robin Des Pres).

Belline Equestrian-based Godfrey Gibbons rode just two horses at Wexford Equestrian on Tuesday, both five-year-olds who won and placed third in their class.

The winner was the ISH gelding Belline Doros Candy Boy (191.6), who is owned by Gibbons’s boss Richard Ames, a staunch supporter of the Stepping Stones to Success league. The chesnut son of Sligo Candy Boy was bred by Sarah Hall out of her Medaglia d’Oro mare Carte D’Oro, who ran unplaced in one run as a two-year-old for Peter Chapple-Hyam and five as a three-year-old for Ralph Beckett.

While mainly from a family of Flat performers with a lot of blacktype on the page, Carte D’Oro is a half-sister to the US-bred Giant’s Causeway gelding Benbane Head, who won a bumper, three hurdle races and three chases in the States including a Grade 3 race over fences. Belline Doros Candy Boy is the second of four foals registered on CapaillOir out of Carte D’Oro, who is dam of one winner on the flat.

Gibbons finished third (181.9) on Maurice Coleman’s ISH gelding Kilroe Gold 1, a brown son of Lagans OBOS Quality out of a Colin Diamond mare. Ian Cassells split the Gibbons pair when achieving a score of 184 on Bridget McGing’s home-bred ISH mare Point Up, a bay by Upsilon, while showing just how professional these classes are, Daniel Anderson finished fourth on the ISH mare Little Miss Grantstown (181.4) and fifth with the ISH gelding Gorsehill Rocket (178.2).