THE North Derry Branch ran the Area 17 dressage on Saturday at The Meadows where there was no question of riders competing without jackets as they had done the previous day as the weather had turned cool and windy.

Loyal show jumping stewards Janet and Lithgow Currie handed over the role to Coreen Abernethy on Saturday when all competitions were held on grass. Hopefully, that wasn’t the reason there were only four starters in the Open class won by the North Downs’ Eve Adair riding the 15-year-old mare Dot who she competes at Elementary level with Dressage Ireland.

Two composite Area squads finished first and third in the Intermediate team competition where the only Branch to compete was East Antrim who finished second. Representing Route, Leah Hanson topped the individual leaderboard at this level on the Connemara gelding Shadow’s Hulk, a seven-year-old grey by Drumbad Fletcher Moss.

The Iveagh Branch dominated the Novice section. Their Ocras quartet, who landed the 11-strong team competition, included the Section A winner, Sarah Cowan on the Connemara gelding Gleann Rua Storm, a seven-year-old son of Coosheen Stormboy, and Isaac McCarthy who claimed the honours in Section B on the Irish Sport Horse gelding Arodstown Aramis, a 21-year-old bay by the recently-deceased Shannondale Sarco St Ghyvan.

The East Antrim Hawks recorded a narrow win in the Grassroots PC80 competition where the individuals sections went the way of Route’s Sophie Welch on Kash My Cavalier, a six-year-old skewbald mare by Cavalier Jump For Joy, and of North Down’s Molly Reid with the 16-year-old British-bred mare Greylands Diamond Girl on whom she has taken over the ride from her sister Zara. The North Downs also landed the five-runner RC70+ through the efforts of Erin Gordon on Gigman Yankee Doodle Dandy.

The Seskinore Branch won the Foundation RC70 team competition through their Sea Urchins quartet who included the individual Section C winner Caroline Wallace on DS Ebony Boy. The other sections were won by Amelia Logan of East Antrim on Fielden Real McCoy (A), Sienna Sands of Iveagh on Clean Cyrss (B) and Henry Campbell of Route with L’Taras Ruby (D).

North Down Red won the unassisted walk/trot team competition but their Erin Tennis (Popcorn) and Amy Reid (Super Cinnamon) had to settle for second (73.53) and third (70.59) individually behind the East Antrims’ Molly Robinson on Desarbre Cossack (75.59).

In the assisted walk/trot team event the win went to the East Down Branch whose Charlotte Curran topped the individual leaderboard with Loneash Daisy. These were the table toppers according to the official judge with the organisers picking the winner of the Bluegrass Horse Feed ‘best lead rein parent’ award. We weren’t told who that was.

Over Friday and Saturday, Aaron McCusker and his crew at The Meadows worked alongside Tullylagan’s Pam Moore and her new committee plus North Derry’s Jason Halcrow and his team to run two very well-organised and successful fixtures. On both occasions, the scoring team were the bedrock of the event.