THE final qualifier in this year’s Horse Sport Ireland Autumn Dressage Development League was hosted by the South Munster Region of Dressage Ireland last Monday at Ballindenisk, where three of the four young horse classes were judged by Joan Ahern (List 2).

For the second time in just over a week, the four-year-old qualifier was won by Co Kilkenny’s Rachel Dowley with her Anglo European Studbook-registered Gentleman Jack BS (71.30%), a chesnut gelding by Godric’s Campeggio. Here, Co Limerick’s Tara Oliver Donohoe finished second on the DI newcomer Miracle Sun Shine (68.97), a traditionally-bred Irish Sport Horse gelding by WRS Sun Shine.

Dowley doubled up in the five-year-old qualifier on the Dutch Warmblood mare GFL Nava (73.10%), her dark brown daughter of For Romance, with whom she won the five-year-old title at the DI National Championships in Mullingar in September. Filling the runner-up spot was Co Kildare’s Sonya McCormack with her ISH gelding Your Very Welcome (70.52), a home-bred chesnut by Desert Moon.

Dowley’s bid to complete a HSI-sponsored hat trick failed narrowly in the six-year-old qualifier, where she had to settle for second, as at Danescroft, with her ISH gelding The Handsome Stranger (68.45%), a grey son of Tyson. The winner, on 70.17, was fellow Marble County resident Nicki Russell with the Connemara mare Callowfeenish Silver. This Kippure Alkatraz bay was bred by Patrick Nagle out of the Dunloughan Scot mare Callowfeenish Homer.

Nicki Russell and the Connemara mare Callowfeenish Silver won the HSI Development Series six-year-old qualifier at Ballindenisk \ Manestream Media

Undergoing treatment for a health issue, Russell couldn’t attend the National Championships with Callowfeenish Silver, instead targeting this series and travelling up to Danescroft last month in a bid to qualify for the final. The mare did compete at Mullingar but at Preliminary level under her owner, Julie Finnegan, who also partners her in riding club activities as a member of Kilotteran.

Having achieved her goal, Russell will be at the HSI series final at CoilÓg tomorrow, Sunday, but Dowley will be missing from the start list due to prior commitments. She wouldn’t be alone in expressing the wish that HSI would announce the dates of their much-appreciated development series – in dressage, eventing and show jumping – earlier in the year.

“I had a really good day at Ballindenisk,” stated Dowley. “I was delighted that Gentleman Jack and The Handsome Stranger were both able to repeat their placings from the previous week. This series has given them great experience and especially so for Jack, as it has allowed me to build his confidence at shows. GFL Nava had her first outing since the Nationals and, despite being fresh, she performed a lovely test.”

Six and seven-year-olds

There were eight entries, but just three starters, in the six and seven-year-old HSI qualifier, where the honours went to South Munster Region member Jennifer Rea riding her own ISH gelding Fermoyle Charles (72.93%), a 2015 bay by S Creevagh Ferro out of a Captain Clover mare. Lucy Cusack placed second with her Ower winner Kirktown (71.21), an eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Uptown.

A feature of Monday’s qualifier was the support it received from all around the country, with the drive to east Co Cork not deterring competitors from as far away as counties Antrim, Down and Mayo. Also, we noted the attendance of the Caroline Lynch-ridden four-year-old DS Bouncer 007 and the year older Melanie Wrynn-partnered Ardeo On Q, who had finished third and first respectively in their age classes at the HSI Autumn Eventing Development Series in Wexford Equestrian on Saturday. On Monday, Lynch and her ISH gelding DS Bouncer 007, a grey son of Moylough Bouncer, comfortably won the Joan Ahern-judged Preliminary DI5A in the short arena on a score of 73.21.

Callowfeenish Silver (70.33%), The Handsome Stranger (67.17) and Your Very Welcome (66.17) all competed in the Novice DI24A, where Marie Hennessy reserved her highest score for young Co Tipperary Category 1 rider Evie Kennedy and her mother Maeve’s Connemara gelding Blackwoodland Breeze (71.17).

Evie and the 13-year-old grey by Glencarrig Prince, who has a successful record behind him in both showing and eventing, recorded a Novice double when also topping the leaderboard (71.13) in the Joan Ahern-judged DI23. Kennedy’s brother Andy made his sole mount of the day a winning one, when he and Maihem First Edition (68.21), a 12-year-old Welsh gelding by Ballagh The Boss, won the Trailblazers Preliminary DI5A judged by Shota Niikura (List 6).