THE Irish Pony Club’s season of fun minimus and tetrathlon competitions continued in glorious weather conditions last Sunday, when the North Kilkenny Hunt Branch ran a very well-attended competition at Thurles Swimming Pool and Nuenna Farm.

The hosts got off to a great start when Mia Perry won the Senior Girls’ competition on a total of 3,522 points, ahead of the Killinicks’ Aoife Griffith (3,436). There were only five starters in that class and just seven in the Senior Boys’ competition, won by Co Limerick’s ever-consistent JJ Power (4,057). Cillian Tobin of the Carlow Branch finished second on 3,779.

The numbers picked up down the levels with 46 starters in the Junior Girls’ class, where the honours were claimed by Tobin’s teammate, Ali Hughes (4,306), while another Carlow member, Orla Kelly, finished third (4,255). The pair were split by Waterford’s Aerin Tabb (4,277).

The placings were more widely spread in the Junior Boys’ class. The win went to United Branch member Oisín O’Donnell (4,366), Wexford’s Blake Kavanagh finished second (4,188), with Breandán Purcell completing in third (4,058).

There was a massive turn-out of 70 for the three-phase Girls’ Minimus class, where the North Kilkennys brought up a double thanks to the efforts of Lucy O’Connell (3,576). The Kingdom’s Chloe O’Sullivan was rewarded for her trip up from Co Kerry when she finished a close second (3,564), ahead of the hosts’ Nancy Lyons Teehan (3,548), who decided to compete here rather than at the final of the Irish Pony Society’s Sports Pony Challenge at Boswell.

The Duhallow Branch struck in the 33-runner Boys’ Minimus, where Jamie Cronin topped the final leaderboard on 3,716 points. It was good to see the Galway Mid Countys’ Alexandre Walch finish second (3,510), with the consistent Ruairi Purcell placing third (3,418).

There was a close result to the 15-strong Girls’ Fledgling class won by the Ward Union’s Alexanne Fox (2,738), ahead of Wexford’s Nora May O’Connor (2,700). In the equivalent Boys’ class, Jim Shanahan (3,064) recorded a win for the Golden Vale Branch, with the Tipperarys’ Louis Stokes finishing second (2,644).

As this fixture took place in Co Kilkenny, we probably shouldn’t have been surprised to see one young rider on the podium with a firm grip on her hurl, no doubt waiting to join the match which took place at day’s end.