THE committee of the North East Region of the Association of Irish Riding Clubs held a two-day Festival last weekend at the Cheval Club’s showgrounds in Jordanstown which attracted great sponsorship.

Saturday’s dressage section was title-sponsored by REA Fitzgerald Chambers and Darragh Equestrian whose respective representatives, Helena Fitzgerald and Helena Walsh, congratulated all the winners. The highest score recorded over the 11 classes judged by Máire Quinlan-Pluck and Jean Halpenny was 73.27% which won the RC N championship class for Killegar treasurer Jillian Southern on Ardmount Rio, a tall, 17-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare by Vriend.

A lower-level double was recorded by Castle Leslie’s Rhiann Shields on the unraced Sunnyside Donn Mor, a nine-year-old gelding by Dansant out of the point-to-point-winning Presenting mare Last Edition. Shields was delighted with her wins.

“I’ve had him for a little over a year but, as I’ve been studying in Dublin, it’s taken time to build our partnership and the NER festival was only our second show together. He is a very special boy with the sweetest temperament and is definitely a big personality in the yard. He keeps us busy and his is always the first head out the door in the morning looking for his breakfast.

“I will be returning to Uni in September so will be taking the time before then to get him out to different venues, keep him competing at show jumping, showing and dressage and see where our journey takes us. I have great hopes for his future.”

Performance hunter

Following sales and the July Show at Tattersalls Ireland, farm manager Cormac O’Rourke took time out to judge the Tailored Equestrian performance hunter classes on Sunday.

He judged 11 classes, three championships, one supreme championship, two best turned-out awards and one best conditioned horse award. The last of these was won by AIRC chairperson, and Copperfield member, Louise Duffy on the seven-year-old Templebrady Fear Bui mare Merrycorner Old Gold who was Traditionally-bred by the rider’s mother Mary out of a thoroughbred mare by Old Vic.

Locally-based Jennifer Byrne (ride) and Co Down’s David Kirkpatrick (conformation) judged the showing classes and their winner of the supreme championship, which was sponsored by REA Fitzgerald Chambers, Darragh Equestrian and Ironia Art and Photography, was the champion mare and champion hunter Foxcovert Dancingintherain.

Ridden by Boyneside’s Linzi Sullivan, whose father Raymond Dowdall bred the grey ISH, Foxcovert Dancingintherain is a seven-year-old by Rebel Mountain out of the Crosstown Dancer mare Carry On Dancing. Sullivan had her supreme champion entered in the older lightweight mares’ class at Dublin on Thursday.

The reserve supreme was Chubi Chekker who won the two Treo Eile-sponsored classes at the show under Cheval’s Rebecca McIntyre. A 12-year-old gelding by Clodovil out of a Sakhee mare, the grey ran unplaced five times on the flat and five times over hurdles between early April 2016 and mid-June 2017.