HARRIET Aveling went into last Sunday’s Equipeople AIRC national eventing championships as the reigning RC90 titleholder and, while she lost that accolade, the Foxborough member left Killossery Lodge Stud as the newly-crowned RC100 champion.

Both last year and this, Aveling partnered her Irish Sport Horse mare The Minx, a 2013 daughter of Emperor Augustus out of a black cob, who she purchased three years ago for her son Lucas to ride. “The Minx is a legend and I’m exceptionally fortunate that Lucas has grown out of her and moved onto a bigger model!

“She was bred locally, right across the valley in fact, by Sue O’Doherty, who broke her, and we were lucky enough to be looking for a horse at the time they were thinking of selling. As John Mulvey says, ‘you don’t find many horses like her’ as she has the best parts of both of her parents.

“I’ve been into horses since I was a little girl, going to Pony Club in Sligo where I grew up. Minx is the first horse I’ve had that has allowed me to grow in confidence, focus on improving my riding and feel the ability to achieve goals. She is one in a million.

“Lucas gained so much from her, doing Junior Pony Club eventing and qualifying for the championships for the past two seasons. This year, he also qualified her for the 158cm working hunter class at the Dublin Horse Show having only attended the necessary two qualifiers. On the day, an unlucky pole from nerves at the first fence meant they came a respectable 10th. Despite only being 15, Lucas (one of four sons) is 6’2”, so sadly he is just getting too big for the mare.

“Last year, having followed Lucas and Minx around the Pony Club events all summer, I took the opportunity when he went back to school to do some competitions for myself. We began working on dressage, as jumping is something Minx does in her sleep. The main aim for the day of the championships was to remove the tension (mostly mine!) from our dressage test. We pulled off a mighty test and managed to finish on that score, winning the RC90 championship above a field of 47 people. The result was beyond my wildest dreams!

“Liking challenges, I set myself the aim of doing the same this year at RC100 level but, as Minx is only a small horse (just 156cm), we have to work hard to get the medium paces necessary for a novice dressage. I’ve learnt a lot this year with lessons from Paul Kilbride and some recent ones from David Freeney and Joanne Jarden.

“Our aim in the dressage this year was ‘elevation’. It wasn’t quite elevated on Sunday, but we’ve come a long way together in a year. The cross-country was bigger and more technical than I expected, Ciaran (Glynn) produced a course with plenty of questions. A big, open apple-cart landing you into a diagonal line with off-set solid cottages was quite the ask. I’ve realised there’s a big difference between 90s and 100s in AIRC!

“We joined Eventing Ireland this year and I’ve done four EI100 events on Minx, jumping double clear at every single one. Our dressage is improving - she has it, but I’m still learning which buttons to press.

Preserving energy

“Lucas is at boarding school, so I school Minx and his horse during the week, along with work (at the family business Tindal Wine Merchants/ Searsons Wine Merchants) and school runs for Marcus (eight). Minx has made anything possible. She flies over fences, ignoring any pilot nerves. She doesn’t ‘give air’ like some horses, but using the cob side of her brain preserves energy and does just enough.”

Richard Hunter, who was a member of the winning Killcarrick team, finished second here on his five-year-old ISH gelding Greannanstown Exhibition (33.6), with Fiona Fitton, chairperson of Earl’s Well, slotting into third with her 15-year-old ISH gelding Ifes Limited Edition (33.9).

The Treo Eile-sponsored award of a training bursary and rug for the highest-placed thoroughbred was won by Border Counties’ Caroline Bellew on the sixth-placed six-year-old Watar gelding Thistoshallpass (38.8).

AIRC table quiz

Equipeople, who sponsored last Sunday’s AIRC national eventing championships, are also supporting the organisation’s latest initiative, a table quiz competition.

Seven regional qualifiers will be held throughout October with the top three teams from each qualifying for a national final. Interestingly, two of the qualifiers are due to be held at GAA clubs, thus forming a bond between equestrianism and gaelic sports.

Full details can be found on the AIRC website but basically teams, which can be formed between clubs, are to consist of four members one of whom must be a volunteer or social member. Each quiz will have 10 rounds of 10 questions which will be set by the regions.