THERE were 13 starters in the young horse class at last Sunday’s Connolly’s Red Mills/Association of Irish Riding Clubs’ national hunter trials championships in Nuenna Farm, where Barrow Valley’s Sandra Moran finished just two seconds over the optimum time to claim the win.

She did so on the home-bred Irish Sport Horse gelding Cornett Star (HHS Cornet - Beauty Of Johnstown, by Rainstown Hollow), a five-year-old bay who was professionally broken in January. “I started to ride ‘Ollie’ myself in April,” revealed a delighted Moran. “I had only done two summer shows with him before entering for the national hunter trials, which was my first ever time to ride him cross-country.

“My hope for his future is that I continue to produce him into an all-round event horse for myself, as he is an incredibly brave jumper. He has so much potential - probably far beyond my reach, if I’m honest. The course was challenging in parts, but rode very well.”

With 12 time penalties, Moran’s clubmate Sarah O’Neill finished second on another five-year-old bay home-bred, the tall ISH mare Kizzy Casall (by Chance Casall). Five combinations were eliminated over the Jill Maher-designed track.

As ever, thanks were extended to all those who helped in running the championships - volunteers, ambulance team, scorers, TD, commentary and stewards.

Qualifying continues tomorrow for the AIRC Premier Performance grassroots jump training series, which will culminate in a final at Emerald on Saturday, November 7th.

Shota Niikura is the accredited coach at Hitchmoughs in Co Cork, while James O’Reilly will be filling the role at Emerald. Entries close at noon on Tuesday for next Sunday’s qualifiers at Duffy’s (Cormac Rafferty) and Mullingar (Tom Walsh).