THE North Munster Region of Dressage Ireland ran a show last Saturday at Garranemore Equestrian where only one competitor, event rider Felicity Ward, recorded a score of 70%.

This she did in the FEI eventing 4* test on James O’Callaghan’s ISH gelding Regal Bounty, a 14-year-old son of Orestus who was the sole starter here before Michael Moore (List 2a). The combination will face a different challenge at the upcoming Millstreet international horse trials where they are entered in CCI4*-S.

Ward didn’t face another rival either in the FEI eventing 2* class where Marian Slattery (List 3) awarded her a score of 66.67% for her test on board Crissa Gillette’s EPA Orlaith, a seven-year-old Jackaroo bay who, too, is heading to Millstreet.

Tara Oliver also recorded an uncontested double, landing the Moore-judged Prix St George with her 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding Senators Rhonaldo (67.79%) and, on board her 14-year-old Hanoverian gelding Furst Romance, the Grand Prix (64.46) which was judged by Donie McNamara.

Lucy Cusack partnered Gavelle Ter Kwincke to an uncontested victory in the sole Advanced class here on 61.71 and, on Sunday at Redhills, she and the 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare saw off one rival combination when scoring 65.29.

Moore also judged both classes at Advanced Medium level, his narrow winner of the six-strong DI90 being show secretary/organiser Tara Dalton on Burgomistr (64.12) while Sonya McCormack was the only rider to appear before him in the FEI Junior Team test where she scored 63.33 on board her ISH gelding Coosan Lucky Guy, an eight-year-old chesnut by Loghehoe Guy.

At Medium level, Owen Smyth and his 21-year-old Hanoverian gelding Dark Site (64.53%) made their first EI appearance of the year a winning one when seeing off their sole rivals in the DI65 judged by Marian Slattery. Eliza Neumann recorded an uncontested win in the DI67 on the Dutch Warmblood gelding Opal (61.06), a six-year-old bay by Glock’s Dream Boy.

Slattery judged both Novice classes and had the same combination at the top of her overall leaderboards, Jessica Heinemann and her ISH mare Ballyturn Silver, a 16-year-old grey by Young Carrabawn who scored 68.17% in the DI24A and 69.66 in the DI21.

Elementary

Moore and Slattery, who were in England on Monday for judges’ training, shared the duties between them in the Elementary classes which attracted three starters apiece. Slattery’s winner of the DI52 was Susan Humphreys riding her ISH gelding One Station Diamond (63.19%), a 14-year-old bay by Le One, while Moore’s leaderboard was topped by Rosemary Gaffney riding her Dutch Warmblood mare Norabel (67.04), a seven-year-old bay daughter of Just Whimphof.

Slattery judged two of the three Preliminary classes where her winners were Lucy Cusack with the unregistered Cualan (68.93% in the DI5A in the short arena), an eight-year-old Kannan gelding bred by US-based Irish international show jumper Paul O’Shea, and Sue Smallman with Laura Dennehy’s British Hanoverian gelding Usher1 (68.33 in the DI18), a nine-year-old by Uthopia. Moore’s winner of the Preliminary DI8 was Gwyn Holmes riding the Dutch Warmblood gelding Mayfly (66.54), a dark bay son of Cassago.