THERE was a good spread countrywide between last weekend’s four Dressage Ireland shows, the first being staged on Saturday by the South East Region at Spruce Lodge where six judges officiated.

There was a brief mention in last week’s issue of Rosemary Gaffney and her new ride for 2023, Freedom, following their uncontested victory in the FEI Para Grade IV Grand Prix A at Ballindenisk two weeks ago. On Saturday, the pair were once again the only starters at the same level – Donie McNamara awarding them a score of 70% – but Gaffney also took on able-bodied rivals in the McNamara-judged Medium BD69 where she topped the Category 3 riders’ scores (68.48) with her Hanoverian gelding.

An eye-catching chesnut, Freedom is a nine-year-old by Floriscount out of the 2003 Lauries Crusador mare Luthien. “I bought him in Jutland (Denmark) in early December last year and he arrived with Santa on Christmas Eve as an early Christmas to myself!” said Gaffney. “Freedom is such a wonderful name for a horse for a Para rider as that is exactly what horses give us.

“He did the stallion shows as a four and five-year-old and was then cut and didn’t do any more competitions until I got him. He has been a superstar and is gaining confidence in the arena with every outing. We will be going to the two-day Leinster Region Summer Festival (this weekend) and then, hopefully, on to Hartpury for the three-star para international in July. We’ll see how that goes and hopefully progress from there.”

For the record, the highest scores in the two Medium classes were recorded by Co Westmeath’s Chloe Fagan and the unregistered Comte Ligniere Z who topped McNamara’s marks on 69.55% and, in the DI65, judged by Faith Ponsonby (recently upgraded to List 2a), achieved a score of 70.94. This weekend, Fagan and her 14-year-old Zangersheide gelding are competing in the CCI3*-L at Millstreet.

Another who warmed up at Spruce Lodge for the Co Cork international horse trials was Camilla Speirs, winner of Saturday’s McNamara-judged Advanced Medium/FEI Junior Team Test with BT Angelo (67.88). Speirs and the 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding by Indoctro are among the entry for the weekend’s CCI4*-L.

Double and treble joy

Kate Dwyer won both well-filled Novice classes with her mother Maureen’s ISH gelding Ri Ra An Tanaiste, the six-year-old Revolution bay bred by Vida Tansey out of her Don Laurie I mare Angelina M2S. Dwyer achieved scores of 72.33% in the DI24A, judged by Jill Spring (List 5) and 72.58 in the BD38 judged by Jane Whitaker (upgraded this week to List 2).

Sorrell Klatzko also recorded a double, seeing off her sole rival in the McNamara-judged FEI Grand Prix where she achieved a mark of 68.04% with her Westfalian gelding Turbo, a 10-year-old bay son of Totilas. With her home-bred Gladiator (79.91), an ISH mare by Sir Sansibar, Klatzko was the only starter in the Ponsonby-judged FEI seven-year-old Preliminary test.

The only competitor in both FEI five-year-old classes was Rachel Dowley who continues to produce some excellent performances from her Dutch Warmblood mare GFL Nava. The daughter of For Romance recorded the day’s highest score, 81%, in the FEI Preliminary competition judged by Ponsonby who was also faced with just the one combination in the DI national young horse test for six-year-olds, Nicki Russell and Julie Finnegan’s Connemara mare Callowfeenish Silver (73).

Lily Larkin notched up a treble. She landed the 11-runner Elementary DI51, judged by Whitaker on the 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Doran Grey K (68.15%) before recording uncontested victories in the two FEI pony classes on the 18-year-old Welsh gelding Bloklands Hoeve’s Amor.