AIRC SJ Championship Qualifier

THE South East Regional Qualifier for the AIRC Team Show Jumping Championship was hosted by Thomastown and District Riding Club at Fernhill Sporthorses, Kilkenny, last Sunday by kind permission of Carol Gee and sponsored by NutriScience and The Equine Warehouse.

Always a hotly contested qualifier, it proved no exception this year with 15 teams entered, including three from the host club. Teams of four riders jumped twice over a challenging course built by Tony Ennis, the three best scores from each counting towards their final total.

Sixty rounds of jumping kept judges Shelley Murphy and Ciaran McGrath busy and, at the end of the first phase, Tinahely Fillies on Top were the only team to have a zero on the score sheet, with teams from Clonmel, Coole Lane and Ballycanew close behind on four faults.

Thrilling jump-off

With all to play for in the second round, there was a thrilling jump-off between the Tinahely Fillies on Top, who had picked up just four faults and Coole Lane, with only three riders on their team, who had all produced a faultless second round and were carrying their four faults from the first round.

The superb venue of Fernhill Sporthorses provided the perfect setting for the jump-off by the two team captains. First into the ring, Leonard Ramsbottom of Coole Lane set a blistering pace on Lightening Spirit but a navigation error gave them four faults. Denise O’Brien of Tinahely needed to keep her nerve for a clear round and did so, partnering Tommy B Good to victory for the Tinahely Fillies on Top and securing their place in the final to be held at Dublin Horse Show.

Coole Lane will have another chance to qualify for the final at the AIRC Festival next month when a wild card qualifier will be held for all regional runners-up.