THE huge team required to run Tyrella 2 last Saturday included the East Downs’ joint-Master Pat Turley and Hazeldene Farm Equestrian’s Andrew Napier who watered and aggravated all tracks in advance of the fixture at John and Hannah Corbett’s lovely coastal venue.
Regional cross-country course designer Adam Stevenson built more challenging tracks than at Tyrella 1 with the result that there were problems from the EI115 (Open) level competition down to the last of the day’s 20 classes, the EI80 (T).
The EI115 (Open) attracted entries from all around the country and it was one of the strong contingent of Co Cork riders, Innishannon’s Momo Sheehy, who claimed the honours when seeing off 25 rivals on board her father Morgan’s Dutch Warmblood gelding TMX Herby.
Ninth of 24 in the EI110 (Open) two weeks previously, 19-year-old Sheehy and the 13-year-old VDL Zirocco Blue chesnut added 2.4 cross-country time penalties to their John Lyttle-awarded dressage score to complete on a total of 34.
Slightly slower over the fixed fences (2.8 penalties), Declan Cullen was narrowly beaten into second place with Seavaghan Ash (34.8).
Molly Evans and Wellan Graffiti were the only combination to receive a sub-30 dressage score (26.4) but they picked up 60 jumping penalties at the water (fence 18 of 20) to drop right out of contention.
Noa W headed a one-two finish for Ian Cassells in the EI110 at Tyrella2 \ Anne Hughes
Pleasing
Announced on Friday as Horse Sport Ireland’s youth high performance eventing manager, Sue Shortt travelled up to Tyrella on Saturday. She must have been pleased with Sheehy’s performance and with that of Donacloney’s Lucy McDowell (18) who recorded an all-the-way win in the 10-runner EI115 with Glenvine Codename R.
McDowell and her father Michael’s 10-year-old ISH mare by Tolan R, who showed some good early season form last year at CCI2* level, posted a completion score of 33.4 which included 5.2 cross-country time penalties.
Sarah Ennis finished second on Dolmen Stellor Design who was faster across the country (3.6 penalties) but had a pole down in the concluding show jumping phase to complete on 37.6.
On another occasion, 4.8 cross-country time penalties might have proved the undoing of Co Kilkenny-based Robbie Kearns in the 19-runner EI110 (Open) – especially as some riders beat the clock.
However, having been awarded a clear-winning dressage score of 20.8 by Lucina Webb-Graham, he claimed victory on his own ISH gelding Pisco Sour (25.6), an 11-year-old son of Metropole. Northern Region members Janie Cairns and Steven Smith, who both completed on their first phase scores, placed second and third respectively with Kensington On The Ball (28.5) and Greenhall Gold Dust (28.8).
South Co Dublin fielded a winner in Ian Cassells who landed the 26-strong EI110 on Noa W (27.5) and, for good measure, claimed the runner-up spot with Peak Freestyler (28.3) who, like her stable-companion, ended the day on her Vanda Stewart-awarded dressage score. A new ride for Cassells this season, Nuala McDonald’s Noa W is a seven-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Baltic VDL out of the Indoctro mare Gucretia.
Alex Houston and My Atlantic Encore, who won the EI110 at Tyrella 1, led after dressage on 25.3 but lost their hold on the top spot when glancing off the first element of the piano fence (12a).