ALL those who attended last Sunday’s Ashbrook Riding Club Spring into Summer Show at Killossery Lodge Stud in any guise commented on the great atmosphere at one of the North East Region’s longest-running fixtures, but it was a great pity that there weren’t more competitors.

Following on from Killossery Riding Club’s show the previous weekend didn’t help the entry nor did the counter-attractions of the Northern Ireland Festival in Cavan, the AIRC show jumping qualifiers in the National Horse Sport Arena, another Riding Club show at Emerald Equestrian and the fact that it was a Bank Holiday weekend.

Club and show secretary Jayne Kidd and her team attracted great sponsorship for the show and Aaron McGrane ran a well-supported raffle, in aid of the Irish Cancer Society. The club, under their enthusiastic and driven new chair Ciara Wynne, may consider a change of date for future years.

Roisin Conway judged the Thornton Park Sport Horses-sponsored performance hunter section and found her champion in the RC80 class. This was Headfort’s Natalie O’Keeffe with her seven-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare Holland Queen (Jan Van Holland - Chilli, by Kildalton King), who also won their RCP3 dressage class. Brook Lodge’s Heather Cleary finished reserve with her RC90 class winner, the seven-year-old Vivant La Vida, who is registered with the Warmblood Studbook of Ireland.

The host club fared best in the GH Plant and Tool Hire dressage section, where members won three of the nine classes, including the above-mentioned McGrane, who topped the scores in the open walk/trot test with his five-year-old ISH gelding Duke Caboom. McGrane and his chesnut son of Lough Fadda Rudi were presented with the turn-out prize in the open arena, which was sponsored by Mary Farrell Equine Massage Therapy.

Also on the mark for Ashbrook were Sarah Cashin, riding her 19-year-old chesnut mare Barbi Rio in the RCP1, and Anne O’Dowd with the similarly-aged ISH gelding Until Proven Guilty, a grey son of Inocent, in the RCE. The two other winners in the Graded classes were Boyneside’s Karin O’Hare with the ISH mare Santiago Sky, a 13-year-old chesnut by Mermus R (RCP2) and Moyglare chair Elaine Kilbane, who topped the scores in the RCN with her 10-year-old Connemara Roisin Star (by Coosheen Stormboy).

Cheval’s Sue Byrne, who was third in her RCE class, won the Ironia Art-sponsored turn-out prize in the Graded arena with her 14-year-old piebald gelding Billy Bonkers.

In non-Graded company, Drynam’s Hannah McDowell recorded the highest score in the Preliminary level class on her ISH gelding Mr Wonderful, a 12-year-old grey by WRS Elvis, while WRS Sunrich is the sire of the 19-year-old ISH mare Ballygriffin Judy, on whom Tara Hill won the open class thanks to Grace O’Brien.

The ever-obliging Cormac O’Rourke judged the MJ Accounting handy horse section, where his final leaderboards were topped by Drynam’s Laura Reynolds with her 12-year-old Fintan Himself gelding Barryswell Rachet (70cm), winners also of the Decathlon-sponsored Irish Draught award; Cheval’s Sheena Kinsella with her six-year-old dun gelding Big Jake (RC80); and Castle Hill’s Elaine Mulligan with DMF Alphabet (RC90 and above).

Mulligan on her 15-year-old ISH gelding by Mermus R was also a winner in the very poorly-supported Horse Mad Store-sponsored combined training division.

The honours were well spread in the ASC Autos-sponsored show jumping section, where there were wins for Howth’s Barbara Mackey on Mischief (newcomers), Thornton’s Ailish Carberry riding JMC Connie Brody (70cm), Drynam’s Yvonne Hughes with Puzzle Pop (80cm), Killossery’s Yvonne Laing on board The Kiwi (90cm) and Boyneside’s Zoe Donohoe on Jolene (1m).

Tomorrow, Killossery Lodge Stud is the venue for the North East Region’s show jumping qualifiers.