WHILE members of the Irish Pony Club were bitterly disappointed when the combined training classes were pulled from the Gallagher Dublin Horse Show schedule this year, they showed their support for the discipline, and pure dressage, in no uncertain manner over the first two days of last week’s IPC Festival in Barnadown.

Once again, Equieire generously sponsored the prizes in both combined training and dressage, while Treo Eile provided a prize for highest-placed thoroughbred in dressage. This was won by the Killinicks’ Kate Jordan, who finished ninth overall with her mother Emer’s seven-year-old Sandmason gelding Serene Ace.

“We had a brilliant couple of days at Barnadown,” commented the IPC’s head of combined training and dressage, Kate Harvey. “The venue was impeccable as always and the weather was amazing. There were lots of happy riders and parents, so I am very grateful to the many judges, scribes, tack and call-up stewards, scorers, the IPC office team and all others who helped make it such an enjoyable Festival.”

Back to back

The Kildares recorded back-to-back victories in the pure dressage team championship, where Kate Moore (The Blue Diamond) and Laura Butler (Lenovo), who were on the squad last year, plus Pippa Dunne (Meelicks River) and Annabelle Dunne (HFS Rock Shandy) claimed the Bill Fisk memorial shield on 71.43% (an average of the best scores).

The Brays’ Sadhbh Bates, Aisling Haines, Emily Grimes and Eleanor Keegan finished second on 71.30, with third place being filled by the Killinicks (70.83). Sixteen teams competed from whom the top 10 riders went through to the ride-off, which Moore won on a score of 72.80 with the 15-year-old grey mare The Blue Diamond. The Kildare member was also presented with the Ronan cup for riding the highest-placed horse and the McGahern trophy for being the highest-placed Junior competing on a horse.

Cian Greene, winner of the Under 10 Combined Training at the IPC festival \ Graham Murphy jumpinaction.net

Cossack Cup

Carlow’s Faye Brennan won the Cossack cup as she finished second (72.76) on the highest-placed pony, the eight-year-old grey gelding Bohey Ronnie. There were two 12-year-old competitors in the ride-off, The Kingdom’s Saibh Prenderville who placed fifth (71.34) on Sunny Girl and the Brays’ Emily Grimes who was eighth (70.43) with Millridge Buachaill Bui, on whom she won yet another Connolly’s Red Mills/IPS eventing qualifier at Frankfort Stud last Sunday.

Grimes and the 21-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Millridge Buachaill Bui, a son of the great Connemara stallion Templebready Fear Bui, also struck in the combined training section, where they topped the final leaderboard in the 36-runner Junior championship and thus won the Redhills Engraving trophy.

Prior to making his debut at the Agria Royal International Horse Show in Hickstead last weekend, Ward Union Branch member Cian Greene undertook a shorter trip from Co Meath to Barnadown, where the nine-year-old won the Under 10s’ championship on the 23-year-old grey gelding Captain Casper, who he has qualified for the working hunter pony starter stakes at Dublin.

There were 34 starters in that championship and 30 in the Under 12s’ championship, in which the Newcastle Lyons Branch claimed the honours thanks to the performance of the in-form pairing of Millie Dalton and the 24-year-old chesnut gelding Jubilee. Four show jumping penalties denied the East Galways’ Jed Collins a win at the eventing qualifier in Frankfort Stud on Sunday with Dartans Jumping Jack Flash, but here he and the 11-year-old skewbald gelding left all the poles intact on their way to victory in the 28-runner Novice class.

Intro Intermediate

Sixteen combinations started in the Intro Intermediate championship, which was won by West Waterford’s Scarlett Dinneen on board the 12-year-old grey gelding Warrior Chieftain.

The only Branch to record a double was Tipperary, who got off the mark in the Intermediate championship where, having seen off 26 rivals, Ailbhe Hally was presented with the Cahill trophy following her test with the Connemara gelding Carnaween Jake, a grey by Earl Of Kilmore. Most disappointingly, there were just three competitors in the Open class, down from 13 in 2025, and all three had a pole down show jumping. There was a winner nevertheless and the recipient of the Members’ cup was Tipperary’s Mary Kennedy, who recorded a comfortable success on the ISH gelding Bellscross Lad, an eight-year-old bay by Tyson.

Rachel Foley, a member of the Laois Branch, recorded an uncontested victory in the Senior Associate championship on the former racehorse Allez Amour, a 14-year-old bay mare by Milan, who was unplaced in eight runs over hurdles.