LOUISE Somers, a member of the AIRC North East Region committee, which doubled as the Festival committee, had a very rewarding day at Jordanstown on her Irish Draught gelding Indian Mist. She and her 16-year-old Cappa Cochise bay won the RC Elementary class, the higher-graded dressage turn-out prize and, in the Horse Mad Store handy hunter arena, they topped judge Karen Gibney’s scores in the RC100 to RC120 class and then claimed the section’s best turned-out award.

While the winners of some special recognition rosettes at the Festival were immediately identifiable, others could only be decided at the close of play and were announced on Tuesday.

The leading rider over the two days was Drynam’s Susan Murray who recorded placings in all sections of the show. The highlight of her weekend was victory in the REA Fitzgerald Chambers and Darragh Equestrian cob championship with the lightweight class winner Dunsandle Multi, a nine-year-old skewbald gelding.

The leading rider award was sponsored by sports psychologist Dr Aoife Quinn with whom Murray won two 50-minute one-on-one sessions.

The highest-placed four-year-old in showing and dressage was Dowdstown Jane’s Legacy who is ridden by Cheval’s Sandra Hannigan. This grey mare by Moylough Legacy has enjoyed a successful first season under saddle both with the riding club movement and in open showing classes. A winner of Saturday’s TRI Equestrian young horse dressage class, she was third in her ridden Irish Draught class at Balmoral in May and was due to compete in the younger small hunter class at Dublin on Wednesday.

The winners of the breed prizes in dressage were the Connemara Doon Finn, a 10-year-old grey gelding by Newgrange Lad ridden by Cheval’s Gerry O’Byrne; the above-mentioned Irish Draught Indian Mist and thoroughbred Sunnyside Dun Mor; and the Traditional Irish Horse Disclosure, a 12-year-old grey mare by Windgap Blue who is ridden by Ashbrook secretary, Jayne Kidd.