THERE was an extra dimension to the dressage section of last weekend’s Barrier Animal Health Spring Festival at Castle Irvine, Necarne in the staging of a Nations’ Challenge on Sunday between a quartet representing the Irish Pony Club and two teams from Area 17 of The Pony Club.

The IPC foursome of Shillelagh’s Sarah Ryan (on Ballinaguilkey Rocco in the Grassroots PC80), Carlow’s Ava Boyd (Ballinamona Boy, Intermediate), Kildare’s Annabelle Dunne (HFS Rock Shandy, Open) and Longford’s Emma Kenny (Ruby Menlo Kelly’s Boy, Novice) claimed the honours on a score of 70.62%.

Area 17’s Windsor squad of Annie Morrow (Liberty’s Benjamin), Isaac McCarthy (Suirvalley Little Monkey), Kerry McGrady (Glengesh Lady), Alice Salters (Drumiller Design) and Chloe Cathcart (Killoughey Clover Imp) finished second on 70.57, ahead of an Area 17 squad of Open and Intermediate riders Chloe Cathcart, Tori Lilly, Amelia Wheeler, Leah Hanson and Eve Adair (69.07).

Representing the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, the IPC and Area 17 squads will compete against one another - plus England, Scotland and Wales - on the Friday of the upcoming Royal Windsor Horse Show (May 14th to 17th).

Individual win

McCarthy, who topped the Challenge’s individual leaderboard on 76.2% with Dawn Carlisle’s Suirvalley Little Monkey, the 19-year-old bay gelding on whom he won this year’s Baileys Horse Feeds flexi eventing league, was also a member of the Iveagh Two quartet, who won the inter Branch teams competition on a converted combined score of five.

There, McCarthy partnered his grandfather Denis Currie’s 21-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Arodstown Aramis, as he competed alongside Skye Jolmes (Comberton Coda), Sarah Cowan (Gleann Rua Storm) and Lily Park (Knocklishen Willow). The Route finished second on 13 marks, with East Antrim placing third on 16. Thirty teams competed.

Individually, the three-runner Open class was won by the Kildares’ Annabelle Dunne on her mother Helen’s seven-year-old skewbald gelding HFS Rock Shandy (70.73%); these are the reigning Eventing Ireland EI100 (P) national champions. Carlow’s Ava Boyd won the seven-strong Intermediate on board her Connemara gelding Ballinamona Boy (72.83), a 20-year-old son of Earl Of Newbridge who she competes at Elementary level with Dressage Ireland.

There were 29 starters in the very competitive Novice class, where Iveagh members filled three of the top four places. Isaac McCarthy claimed the win riding Arodstown Aramis (77.40) and also finished fourth on Suirvalley Little Monkey (76.20), while Sarah Cowan placed third on the Connemara gelding Gleann Rua Storm (76.40). Zara Reid, a member of the North Down Branch, filled the runner-up slot on the 11-year-old ISH gelding Major Cross (76.60).

Ride-offs

Ride-offs were introduced this year at PC80 and PC70 level, with the first of these being won by the above-mentioned Iveagh combination of Sarah Cowan and Glean Rua Storm (74.90), a seven-year-old son of Coosheen Stormboy on whom she qualified as the winner of Section B. Sofie Halcrow of the North Derry Branch finished second on her father Jason’s ISH gelding MMc Mo Chroi Eile (74.30), a Cavalier Land gelding on whom she won Section A.

Decided on collective marks, the East Downs’ Rose O’Connor narrowly won both Sections of the PC70 class, A on the 14-year-old black mare Tullymurry Galaxy (76%) and B with the Connemara gelding Rickamore Quest (74.20), a 10-year-old dun son of Sweetwall Captain Courageous.

Ten-year-old Rose may have used up her luck too early in the day as, in the ride-off, she had to settle for second on Tullymurry Galaxy (69.20) behind the Route representatives, Harry Campbell and the now 17-year-old grey mare Little Miss Bling (70.70), who used to be well-known on the local 128cm show jumping circuit.

The dressage to music class attracted six starters and here there was a very clear-cut winner in the North Downs’ Grace Jackson riding another former show jumper, the Connemara gelding Stracomer Super Mario (82.86), a 16-year-old grey by Ballymore Paprika with whom she has competed twice in Dressage Ireland company.

Dressage at the Festival was organised by the Fermanagh Harriers Branch, while the vast number of tests were judged by Coreen Abernethy and Lucinda Webb-Graham.