THE Wexford Hunt Branch of the Irish Pony Club hosted the second of this year’s Connolly’s Red Mills eventing championships qualifiers last Sunday at the Foxhounds’ kennels in Ballinaboola.

Eight dressage arenas were used to cater for the large entry while Michael Doyle had to build tracks in two show jumping rings. Coming so early in the season, the technical cross-country track proved very influential with some competitors coping well with the challenge, thus bagging a qualifying ticket, while others disappointingly didn’t.

The overnight rain was welcome but, even so, the cross-country time was extended so that riders weren’t encouraged to go too fast on the ground. As ever, these events couldn’t go ahead without the huge input of officials and volunteers with many of the Wexford Branch parents providing all the physical labour in the run up to Sunday.

There was a very tight result to Section A of the Intermediate where both the Wicklows’ Sorcha Vickers on Interface and the Killinicks’ Keira Crowther riding Tomoka Spots completed on 26.50. Vickers’s total included one show jumping time penalty but, as she had finished closer to the optimum time across the country, she claimed the spoils. Vickers, who is coached by Luke Drea, is getting to know the Dutch Warmblood gelding Interface who was evented up to early July last year by Ellen Creed.

The result was a lot more clear-cut in Section B which was won by Kilkenny Branch member Aisling Dwan who, too, added a single show jumping time penalty to her dressage score to record a win on the traditionally-bred Irish Sport Horse gelding, Lackelly Star, a 13-year-old Connemara/thoroughbred-cross.

Intro Intermediate

A dressage score of 27 penalties gave Carlow’s Niamh Tobin a good lead in Section A of the Intro Intermediate class which she managed to win comfortably on the ISH mare Broomfield Banner despite lowering a pole in the show jumping ring and picking up 1.6 of a cross-country time penalty. Two members of the Killinick Branch finished closest to Tobin and the 14-year-old Silver Banner grey.

In second, on board the five-year-old Chillout mare Chillerella (36.15), came Lily-Mai Berry who too had a fence down show jumping and was a second over the time across the country. The previous day, the rider had placed sixth in an EI110 at Hillcrest on the thoroughbred gelding Skylanna Scatman. In third came Grace Day, riding her thoroughbred gelding Ask Jim (36.25), who was the only one of the 15 starters to complete on her dressage score.

Two of the 15 starters in Section B finished on their first phase scores, the winner, Bray’s Charlotte Smith on the Connemara mare Glenayre Mystical Mist (34 penalties), an eight-year-old grey by Coosheen Stormboy, and the Killinicks’ Niamh Ryan on the thoroughbred Rua (34.50).

Juniors

The four sections of the Junior class were won by the Ward Union’s Lillian Ward on the 10-year-old bay gelding Killea Peril, by the Wicklows’ Laragh Louise Molloy riding the 16-year-old grey mare HB Miss Kizzy, by Emily Flavin Redmond of the Carlow Branch with the seven-year-old Connemara gelding Ballyerk Paulo and by the Killinicks’ Aoife Murphy on the six-year-old bay mare Greenfield Lorenza.

The Killinick Branch struck again in Section B of the Under 12s’ class through Sadhbh Whelan and Ariella while the Island Branch hit the mark in Section A thanks to the efforts Freya Farrell and the nine-year-old Connemara mare Illaunurra Robin.

The Carlow Branch will be running the third Connolly’s Red Mills qualifier on Sunday next, June 8th, at Lisgarvan House, Ballon.