THE West Leinster region of the Association of Irish Riding Clubs (AIRC) hosted their team show jumping qualifier at Coilog Equestrian, last Sunday, kindly sponsored by Horseware Ireland. Twelve clubs from around the region took on Chris Byrne’s challenging track in a bid to qualify for the championships at the Dublin Horse Show.

After round one, just three teams – Moyglare, Greenhills and Winterdown – finished on a zero score.

The remaining teams all finished with eight faults or more, putting them under pressure to jump clear in the second round of the competition.

The Greenhills team of Clare Stanley, Olwyn Butler, Roland Dalton and Grainne Alexander maintained their composure and were the only team to finish both rounds on a score of zero, booking their place in the championship final at the RDS.

Finishing second, on eight faults, was the team from Moyglare.

They will now go forward to a ‘wild card’ qualifier which will be hosted at the AIRC festival in June, giving them a second opportunity to qualify for the finals.

Third place went to the Abbeylands white team, who finished on 12 faults. The fourth and fifth-placed teams both finished with 16 faults, however, Oakleaf were quicker on time in the second round to put them ahead of the Abbeylands Green team. Ballyteague Riding Club took sixth place on a final score of 20 faults.

A special word of thanks must go to the on-duty judges, the show officials for running such a fantastic event and to the event sponsor, Horseware Ireland, for their support.