LAST weekend was a particularly good one for eventing in Ireland with the staging of a Northern Region fixture at the new venue of Moyallen on Saturday and the inaugural running of the George Mernagh Tattersalls Horse Trials on Sunday.

At the Co Meath sales complex, the expression “it’s great to be back” was in constant use, although the event only failed to run last year, followed by “let’s hope it continues and gets even better”. These sentiments, added to an excellent entry of just over 250, was reward for the committee who had given the event the impetus it needed to run and whose hard work had attracted sponsors for the majority of the classes and fences.

Horse sports in this country are extremely fortunate that Edmond Mahony, chairman of Tattersalls Ireland and its parent company, has equestrian interests outside racing. Although he was due to be at The Curragh in the afternoon for the Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Sales Stakes, Mahony spent the morning at the event. Also on site, but for the entire day, was the grounds manager Cormac O’Rourke.

The late George Mernagh, former managing director of Tattersalls Ireland, was remembered not just in the naming of the event and one of the fences but in the featured George Mernagh EI110 for six-year-olds. This was won by local rider Sarah Ennis on P.J. Hegarty’s home-bred Irish Sport Horse mare Fenyas Email who is heading for the Michael Leonard EI105 class for five and six-year-olds at Ballindenisk next week.

P.J. reminded us that George had been on hand to congratulate Rosemary Connors following her victory in the four-year-old Future Event Horse League final at Tattersalls in 2008 on the Ricardo Z mare Fenyas Elegance, the dam of Fenyas Email. The Paul Brady-designed, Graham Ball-built cross-country fences didn’t cause too many problems but it proved difficult to make the time in the higher graded classes. Riders appreciated show jumping in the main arenas in front of the house but, especially for those with multiple rides, times should be allotted for this phase – as they were at Moyallen on Saturday.

The entry was nothing as large at the Northern Region event but all were delighted to get if off the ground and the Richardson family are keen to host more fixtures. Vina Buller, who had a runner, Mr Marmalade, at Tattersalls on Sunday, here mentored the cross-country designers and builders Trevor and Steven Smith. Sadly, Steven didn’t get to appreciate the fruits of his labours as he took a heavy fall on the first horse out and ended up in hospital. No doubt some people at Moyallen were interested in that day’s racing when Saffie Osborne recorded an historic first victory for a female jockey in a British Classic, the Betfred St Leger, on Highwayman. Again, some people will remember Osborne as an excellent event rider who, on her sole competitive visit here in 2019 won the CCIJ2*-L on Alex Power’s former ride Lakantus.

In discussing her win on Sunday with Edmond Mahony he pointed out that Highwayman’s trainer Joseph O’Brien, who won a bronze medal for Ireland at the 2009 European pony championships, had competed in the international at Tattersalls earlier that year, finishing second on the same pony, Ice Cool Bailey. As it so happened, later on Sunday, O’Brien won the Tattersalls race with Star Of State.

“We were very pleased with how the day ran and have received a lot of positive feedback,” commented event secretary, Linda Christie. “It was great to see Mags Power present the George Mernagh trophy to Sarah Ennis while Catherine Dunne presented the Ian Olding trophy to Emily Brooks. It was also good to see people like Carlos McDowell and Ada Matheson, with her good friend Barbara Micks, at the event.”

In the Northern Region, there was “rapturous praise” from competitors and spectators alike for the Moyallen, with the new venue bringing the curtain down on their season on a very positive note.