THE heats and finals of the exciting Irish Pony Club senior mounted games competition took place in Ring 1 at the Gallagher Dublin Horse Show last weekend.

At the conclusion of Sunday’s final, the Leonard perpetual challenge trophy was presented to the victorious Tipperary team of Fern and Robyn O’Reilly, Mikey and David English and Paddy O’Callaghan. The win was all the more special because it was the first time a Tipp team had won since 2005 when the great Rachael Blackmore was riding in Dublin for Tipperary. That team was trained by Chris Ahearn and Frank Blackwell, Ahearn now being chief steward at Dublin.

Team trainer Deirdre O’Reilly, was was presented by Ahearn with the inaugural Bronagh English Memorial Cup. The English family generously donated the Cup in memory of their daughter, much loved and greatly missed Bronagh.

Making its presentation all the more poignant was the fact Bronagh’s bothers, Mikey and David, were on the first team to win it.

Danielle English said: “It was a very special moment and Bronagh would be so proud of her brothers. She loved going to the Horse Show and watching her brothers compete, she was their number one fan. She was an incredible person.”

Speaking after the win, Deirdre O’Reilly said: “The win at the RDS was a huge achievement, as we didn’t have an easy road in qualifying for the RDS. We only had four riders up until the last qualifier when Paddy O’Callaghan took the fifth spot. Also, our youngest rider, Fern, at only 10, had to ride a different pony as her pony got seriously injured. Fern rode Firefly, who is aged 34 years and must be the oldest pony to ever compete at the games in the RDS!

“It was a huge honour for me to be the trainer of this winning team this year, as it was my first time and two of my daughters, Robyn and Fern, were on it. Our team really held it together and showed exactly what team spirit, resilience and determination is all about and I, as their trainer, could not be prouder of their achievement at the RDS.”

The games competition received a lot more attention than usual this year, thanks to the many people standing on the back of the new Anglesea Stand, where they had a bird’s eye view of all the action.