THE popularity of Tattersalls Ireland as an eventing venue among members of the Irish Pony Club was underlined again last weekend when there was an entry of 467 for the Connolly’s Red Mills championships.

Naturally, there were some withdrawals but stabling was booked for 450 animals as members and their parents decided to make the most of the weekend by staying on site. This didn’t look the best of ideas for those in tents when the rain came early on Saturday but Pony Clubbers and their relations are made of hardy stuff and I’d say they would all do the same next year!

To cater for such a large number of competitors, 13 dressage arenas were erected and three show jumping arenas, including the two international rings, were used. Longtime course builder Raymond Jess produced tracks that were up to championship standard which caught out a lot of riders. The IPC’s operations manager Ivan Hatton designed the cross-country courses and was assisted in their building by Graham Boyd, T.J. Dillon and Tattersalls’ Cormac O’Rourke.

“We also had a wonderful team of volunteers from all the Branches at the championships,” said Hatton who, by being at Tattersalls, missed seeing Balladeer Clintender, who he owns in partnership with rider Elizabeth Power, finish second in the CCI3*-L at Lisgarvan. “I’d particularly like to mention Lesley-Anne Fox who was a huge help over the weekend.

“We also have to thank Tattersalls Ireland of course for allowing us use their wonderful facilities and I hope that Simon Kerins (the sales company’s chief executive officer) was pleased with everything he saw over the two days. We had a very lengthy prize-giving ceremony thanks to our wonderful sponsors Connolly’s Red Mills and their subsidiary companies Foran Equine and Carr & Day & Martin. It was great to have Red Mills’ Jane Davis here for most of Sunday along with Nicole Groyer and, of course, the chairman of our executive committee, Michael Essame.”

Blown away

Davis, Head of Marketing at Connolly’s Red Mills, enjoyed her day at the championships. “I was absolutely blown away by the atmosphere, the standard of competition, and the overall professionalism and camaraderie on display. Each competitor, their ponies and their families, are a real credit to their Branches.

“The support across the 14 qualifiers has been nothing short of fantastic. We would like to sincerely thank the IPC Eventing Committee, each of the Branches and their volunteers, and Tattersalls for hosting such a superb championship. We are truly delighted to continue our sponsorship of this event, alongside our partner brands Foran Equine and Carr & Day & Martin, and to be part of such a special celebration of talent, dedication and horsemanship.”

As chair of eventing, Jacinta Reville had a lot of work to do over the weekend and she was assisted by, among others, the IPC’s president Elaine Lait and chairperson Rosemary Crosse who were the latest to be drenched as part of the IPC’s fundraiser for the Irish Cancer Society.

The final national competition for IPC members this year is the Show Jumping Classic which takes place on Sunday, September 7th, at CoilÓg and for which qualification continues. After that, an IPC team will take on their counterparts from Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales in a Pony Club nations’ cup of eventing at Ballindenisk (September 24th to 28th).