CAROLINE O’Brien, a member of the second-placed Killcarrick team, won the RCP2 championship at last Sunday’s Connolly’s Red Mills/AIRC national dressage championships in Mullingar on a combined score of 139.94%, seeing off 33 rivals in the process.

As her winning mount Champagne Sparkles (Masked Marvel - Royale du Berlais, by Poliglote) is a thoroughbred, O’Brien also won the Treo Eile award on the 10-year-old. The French-bred gelding failed to win 11 starts for the Gordon Elliott yard, but is enjoying a more successful second career in dressage, showing and performance classes.

Emma Mangan, who was on the winning East Cork team, finished second on Galtee Primrose (138.69), with Warrington’s Anne McGrath placing third on her Connemara mare Mahanagh Heather (138.48), a 15-year-old daughter of Rathcoona Cove.

Cecilia Foster helped East Cork claim the team title when topping the final leaderboard in the eight-runner RCE championship on Abbeyside Rory (137.42). Here, Killcarrick won another Treo Eile award through the efforts of the second-placed combination of Myriam Bunter and her 13-year-old Arakan gelding Star Of Rubykan (135.47). Twinfort’s Owen Smyth finished third on the 20-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding D-Sign (134.55).

Jemma King, a member of the third-placed Tara Hill team, claimed the honours in the RCP1 championship on board her 16-year-old bay mare Drumbo Jessie (136.44). Already celebrating in Annaharvey following Maeve Deverell’s dual medal-winning result at the European Junior eventing championships in Sweden, the resident riding club had a runner-up finish here thanks to Yvonne Fogarty on the 18-year-old Killaughey Clover mare Annaharvey Royal Clover (135.45). Killcarrick’s Sandra Doody placed third with her Connemara mare Lisbarren Countess (134.81), a seven-year-old daughter of Ashfield Festy.