THE second leg of the 2019 Plusvital Spring Tour took place at Cavan Equestrian Centre last weekend and with high entry numbers, the competition was strong for the pony riders who were ready for battle.

Once again, Senan Reape proved successful with a first and second placing in the 128 1m Plusvital Spring Tour class. Reape was the clear winner riding Mickybo and being the only combination to break the 30-second mark, crossed the beams in a very fast time of 28.26 seconds. Reape’s second pony, Valor, was second in 30.27.

Robert Russell put up a valiant fight with Munsboro Plunkett in a time of 30.61. The class proved highly competitive with less than a second separating the second to fourth placings. Juliette McIntosh and Twin Cam stopped the clock in 30.65 to slot into fourth place. Fifth place went to Donal Lynch and Tower View Lady in 32.10 with Emily Maloney taking up sixth place in the line-up with double clear in 33.03.

Masie Adams and Dunlewey Redshank found victory in the 138 1.10m class with a super double clear in 32.59, the closest competitor was Kian Dore who rode Ardataggle Lady past the beams in 34.72 to hold onto second place. Jenny Dunlop slotted into third place in 36.78. Aoife Whelan and Coppenagh Celtic Diva were the last of the double clears, finishing in fourth place in 37.23. Ellen Power, although the fastest on the day, had an unfortunate pole of the ground which left her and Bear Me In Mind in fifth place in 29.29. Lauren Murphy and The Bullseye finished in sixth place in 30.34 and one fence on the ground.

WINS FOR DERWIN

Francis Derwin and Rincoola Babog once again won the 148 1.20m class with the unbeatable time of 34.72. Hannah McGoldrick was hot on his heels with River View Annie (36.78) to grasp second place. John McEntee had great success finishing third and fourth with My Gypsy Rose (38.25) and Silver Dream (41.87) respectively. Conor McLaughlin and Wildwook Silver slotted into fifth position in 42.59 and Niamh McEvoy, the 2018 winner of the Starfinder and Milchems She’s A Keeper, completed the line up with a double clear in 33.03.

More was to come in the 148 1.30m HSI Viewing Class when Francis Derwin and Jim Derwin’s Master Steveie G took the red ribbon from Liam Clancy’s Fernando, ridden by Ella Clancy, in second followed by Maeve McEvoy’s Fireman (Niamh McEvoy) in fourth. Derwin was fourth on Rincoola Babog while Benny Lee’s Bobby Dawn (Rhys Williams) was fifth and Barra Sweetnam’s Perseus Spartacus (Ryan Sweetnam) was sixth.

CHILDREN ON HORSES

The Children On Horses section saw just two starters produce double clears at the second leg. They were Marta Bravo Hughes (HHS California) and Sarah Fitzgerald on Gerard McNamara’s Master Holiday.

The next stop on this tour is at Portmore Equestrian on March 30th followed by The Meadows on March 31st.