THE Irish Pony Club held its Equieire National Dressage Day in mid-April at CoilÓg where, despite the fact that this was on a weekday, over 300 tests were ridden between warm-up and competition classes.

“This was quite an increase on previous years,” commented Kate Harvey, chairperson of the IPC’s dressage and combined training committee. “We were particularly encouraged by the large number of Under 10 and Under 12 entries, which bodes well for the future of Irish dressage. We were also delighted to see the number of members who came from far-flung Branches, many of whom went home in the ribbons.”

From Under 10s up to Intermediate level, even the competition classes had to be divided (there was a three-way split to the Junior section) but, unsurprisingly, there was no divide to the Open/Senior Associates class which attracted seven entries. Here, Meath’s Maura Moore-McCune scored 70.77% to narrowly see off Newcastle Lyons’s Abbey Ferris riding How Ya Sammy (70.6).

In mid-May, the IPC took up an invitation to send a team to the Pony Club dressage home international at the Royal Windsor Show where Julie McDonald, Thea Whelehan, Ellen O’Hara, Jane Fitzgerald and Zara Kelly finished third. Completing on the same score, but with a lower combined collective mark, was the Area 17 team of Jessica Mulgrew, Alice Salters, Amelia Wheeler, Erin McCrea and Hannah Thompson.

Equieire also sponsored the dressage classes at the IPC’s Festival at Barnadown in late July when the team title was won by the Kildare Dancers quartet of Kate Moore (The Blue Diamond), Jamie Maughan (Fly Over Gil), Laura Butler (Lenovo) and Lucy Maughan (Valley View Sammy), who thus earned the right to represent the IPC at the British championships in Offchurch Bury where they finished seventh of 39 Intermediate teams.

Jane Fitzgerald, who was a member of the second-placed Shillelagh Green team, claimed the individual honours when scoring 74.44% on Ballymurphy Hughie.

In a bid to improve the standard of dressage in IPC eventing, each year a Carr & Day & Martin-sponsored rosette is presented to every Arena winner following the dressage phase at the Connolly’s Red Mills eventing championships at Tattersalls Ireland.

There were 14 individual winners on Saturday, August 23rd with The Kingdom and Killinick Branches fielding two of these apiece.

Toward the end of the year, the IPC was represented in a virtual dressage competition, organised by the Pony Club international Alliance where members competed against their counterparts in the United Kingdom, the USA, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Barrier Festival

In Northern Ireland, the Barrier Animal Health Spring Festival in late April attracted a large number of competitors to Castle Irvine, Necarne for a weekend of dressage, arena eventing and show jumping.

There were just two team events in dressage, the Open/Intermediate, which was won by a mixed Branch quartet of North Down’s Kerry McGrady, Killultagh’s Amelia Wheeler, East Antrim’s Erin McCabe and North Down’s Eve Adair and the PC80 to Novice won by the Route trio of Grace Elliott, Harry Campbell and Leah Hanson. The highest score recorded by one of the six individual winners was 78.40% which was achieved at PC80 level by the Iveaghs’ Sarah Cowan on Gleann Rua Storm.

Sponsored by Tamlaght Equestrian Care, the Area 17 dressage was held on June 22nd at The Meadows where the above-mentioned Erin McCrea, riding Eisfee, won both the open and intermediate individual classes for the East Antrim Branch.

There were six team competitions - from Intermediate level down to walk/trot assisted - with the best supported being the 16-strong PC70 won by the East Antrim Black quartet of Cynthia Jane O’Brien (Drumcaughey Diamond), Hannah McCammond (Telaid Paper), Kate McDowell (Highburren Cameron) and Penny Logan (Hope Quotation).

The Route’s Harry Campbell won both individual classes at this level with Little Miss Bling (78%) and Coxwood Fabian Stedman (84.80).