THE Irish Pony Club held their Mackey Equestrian-sponsored national hunter trials last Saturday at Ballycahane where Gerald and Dominic Furnell designed and built well-received tracks and Carolyn Furnell presided over a much-appreciated hospitality tent.

“The courses rode well and the fences were very well-built and presented,” said the IPC’s Operations Manager, Ivan Hatton. “Full credit has to go the Jacinta Reville (Chair) and the eventing committee and their scorers Evelyn Whyte and Sally Maguire. The sun shone and everyone was in good form. Competitors are now looking forward to the start of the eventing qualifiers.”

It only took an hour from when entries opened for the ‘house full’ sign to go up with some querying why the event wasn’t run over two days as it was last year. Back then, when the fixture was re-scheduled to September, some parents who had children competing at different levels, and so on separate days, queried why there was a need for the division!

Disappointingly, there was an uncontested success for the Islands’ Fionnan Nolan in the hunting horn competition for the Major Victor McCalmont trophy.

Nolan was a member of the Island trio who, with five faults in 5.33 minutes, finished fifth in the Junior teams of three championship. This was won by Killinick Pink’s Mollie Bates Doyle (Gracie), Freya Barry (Churchlands Liberty) and Hazel Slattery (Breolie Mist) who recorded the faster of two clear rounds in 5.11 mins to beat the Scarteen Rockets (5.23).

Teams

Eleven teams started at Junior level but only four Senior teams lined-out and, of these, the only finishers were the Wexford trio of Cora Finn (Shakespeares Romeo Montague), Emma Hickey (Ardeo Batman) and Michael Bowe (The Lady Grey Miller).

Megan Adams was a member of the eliminated Laois team but, individually, won the 27-strong Senior singles on Oliver’s Girl. Adams did so in style as she and the 13-year-old KMS Romeo mare recorded one of just four clear rounds and the only one under five minutes. There were no clears in the four-strong Senior pairs’ championship, the faster of two five-fault rounds being posted by Offaly’s Emily Conlan (Clogheen Cody) and Lucy O’Rourke (Killglass Jimmy).

Five of the 27 combinations recorded clear rounds in the Junior pairs’ championship where this writer was delighted with the win of her Branch from years past, the Ward Union, thanks to the efforts of the Stars duo Anna-May Keogh (Brooklodge Ellie) and Lillian Ward (Killea Peril). They stopped the clock on 5.26 mins to beat West Carbery’s Isla O’Connor and Grace Wycherley (5.30) and The Kingdoms’ Bouncing Buttercups, Paige Murphy and Ayda Daly (5.48).

When the individual competitors were added to the mix, there were 96 starters in the Junior Singles’ championship, 34 of whom recorded clear rounds. Three of these came home under the five-minute mark, the fastest being the Killinicks’ Ruby Cousins on Jumpingdale Peanut who raced through the finish on 4.38. Siun Fleming of the Duhallow Branch filled the runner-up slot with Ballyerk Smoothy (4.58) ahead of the North Tipperary and Ormond representative Jessica Carter riding Parcglas Western Venture (4.59).