KATY Roarke, who joined Mosstown Riding Club just over a year ago, won the prestigious Carl Geisler memorial championship at last weekend’s AIRC Festival in Mullingar on her maxi cob Kilbegley Lad.

Only those who won or finished reserve in their ring championships got through to Saturday’s early evening finale, with Roarke’s journey on her nine-year-old gelding commencing around noon in Ring 2. They first won the combined heavyweight/maxi class before being crowned the River Lodge Stables cob champions, with Greenhills’ Helen Alexander standing reserve on the lightweight class winner, her nine-year-old bay mare Princess Ceide April.

Roarke had to wait some time before mounting up again for the Ring 2 championship, which included the champions and reserves from the coloured horses and riding horses sections. Here, she and Kilbegley Lad claimed the title with the AIRC’s chairman, Chris Carter, finishing reserve for Tara Hill on his 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Bohermeen Pure Quality.

Carter didn’t bring Bohermeen Pure Quality back for the supreme, instead relying on his Ring 3 champion, Cloonan Hector on whom he had to settle for the reserve slot as the combined panel of judges came down in favour of Roarke and Kilbegley Lad as their winners of this year’s Carl Geisler memorial championship.

Roarke, who used to be show groom for young Co Westmeath international show jumper James Derwin, now works as a sample co-ordinator for Thermo Fisher. “It’s a Monday to Friday position with shift work hours and I find it works in well with doing my horses (she also finished third in Sunday’s Traditional Irish Cob class on Alfredo).

“We bought Kilbegley Lad privately as a three-year-old who’d just been sat on. Before I joined Mosstown, all I really did with him was a bit of hunting with the Glasson Farmers, but I did keep up his flat work. I like dressage and on Sunday we finished joint-first in the Preliminary dressage to music. I also do a little bit of show jumping with him at Riding Club shows.

“This year, we won our maxi class at NIF (Northern Ireland Festival) and went cob champion and we were fifth in the maxi class at Balmoral. I’m going to enter him for Dublin and we’ll probably do some showing shows before then. I might also aim him at the AIRC national dressage championships (in Mullingar on August 30th).”

Roarke, who is coached in dressage and showing by fellow Mosstown member Thomasina O’Reilly, is usually assisted at shows by her sister Emily, who sadly missed this major success as she was away for the weekend. Disappointing, but up stepped mother Trish to fill the role of groom while, from outside the ring, Katy was also supported by boyfriend Ciaran Hyland.

“I can’t believe I won the supreme at what was really my first attempt!” said Roarke. “There was a great atmosphere at the show and I find all involved with riding clubs are so welcoming and encouraging.”