BEN Buckley’s excellent season was derailed at the Dublin Horse Show earlier this month but it got back on track last weekend at Tattersalls Ireland, the hugely popular venue of the Connolly’s Red Mills Irish Pony Club eventing championships.

Buckley’s victory is easily described. The 18-year-old Co Limerick Branch member completed on his fourth-place dressage score (32.25 penalties) with Elsbeth Kennedy’s 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Tullabeg Flamenco, the Tullabeg Fusion dun Sam Watson rode at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Tipperary’s Anna O’Callaghan won the Carr & Day & Martin dressage prize on Texas Lucas (19.75) but she was one of four riders who failed to complete in the 11-runner class.

Twelve teams contested the Intermediate championship where there was a clear-cut win for the Killinick quartet of Keira Crowther on the appaloosa gelding Tomoka Spots, Jessie Bates and Amy Griffith with the former racehorses Guns For Hire and Wex Gal respectively and Owen Carroll on the six-year-old ISH mare Untouchable Royale.

Show jumping clears were few and far between and Crowther won her arena despite lowering one of the coloured poles. However, the Duhallows’ in-form Victoria Roche completed on her first-phase score to claim the honours in her arena on Glenomra Andy while Sorcha Vickers of the Bray Branch likewise finished on her flat work mark to win the intermediate individual title, and with it the Richie Kehoe cup, on Interface who competed at CCI3*-S level last season with Ellen Creed.

Intermediate championships

There was no team competition at Intro Intermediate level but there were two very competitive individual championships.

In Section A, West Waterford’s Caoilainn Foley recorded an all-the-way success on the traditionally-bred ISH gelding Monatrea Xavier, a 17-year-old bay by the thoroughbred stallion Riyalan. In Section B, the title was claimed by Carlow’s Niamh Tobin on Broomfield Banner, the ISH mare on which she won the Intermediate combined training championship at the Dublin Horse Show. The 16-year-old grey was bred by Pam Kerr who sadly died on August 14th.

Forty-nine teams appeared before the starter in the Junior championship where very little separated the top five squads.

Heading home with the Tommy Brennan trophy as winners were the Wicklow Warriors’ Laragh Molloy (HB Miss Kizzy), Louise McHugh (Pop The Question), Cian Killoran (Baytree Titanium) and Maya von Moll (Tousist King) who posted a score of 84.5 penalties. Meath Hawks finished reserve champions on 85 and Kildare Black were third on 85.5. With an average cross-country time which was closer to the oprimum, the Ward Union Stars placed fourth ahead of the Carlow Crusaders although both teams completed on a total of 87.75.

There were four team arena winners viz Molloy on HB Miss Kizzy, Bray Branch member Sadie Orton with Gowerhass Boy, Carlow’s Muireann Tooher riding Slieve Rushen Don and the Kildares’ Georgia Queally on Ferdy. The Junior individual championship was won by Offaly’s Saoirse Carty and the 15-year-old grey gelding Sandy Banks.

Under 12s

While there wasn’t a huge variety of fences on the Under 12s’ cross-country course, their track did a lot more than just go around one field and all those who completed should have been very pleased with themselves.

Eighteen teams were counted down at the start with the one who counted at the finish being the North Kilkenny Kittens quartet of Katie Murphy (Cartoor Lady), Sarah Eardly (OMS Lady Esquire), Aoibhinn Manton (Flowerhill Bobby) and Molly Clarke (Clonross). They won on a score of 90.75 penalties ahead of the Tipperary Twirls (95.75) and Killinick Green (96.75).

Scarteen Branch member Georgina Purcell won her team arena on the home-bred 12-year-old gelding HHO Wayne while North Kilkenny’s Manton moved up from third after dressage to win her arena on the Connemara gelding Flowerhill Bobby, a 17-year-old grey by Drimcong Owen.

Eleven-year-old Anna Connolly, a member of the West Carbery Branch, led from start to finish in the 30-runner Under 12s’ individual championship on board the former Grade A gelding Mullaghgloss Rebel (29 penalties), a 16-year-old dun. Bray’s Emily Grimes filled the reserve slot on the ISH gelding Millridge Buachaill Bui (29.5), the now 20-year-old Templebready Fear Bui bay who represented Ireland at five European pony eventing championships.