THERE was a large entry for last Sunday’s Leinster Region show at CoilÓg where, while it was cold, the rain didn’t arrive until late in proceedings.

The five judges required to deal with over 30 classes were Dermot Cannon (List 1), Michael Moore (List 2a), Jillie Rogers (List 3) and the List 4-graded pair of Bróna O’Mahony and Ruth Daunt.

Not too surprisingly, Cannon judged many of the classes from Medium level upwards, awarding his highest score, 70.59%, to international event rider Jenny Kuehnle on board Mags Kinsella’s unregistered Sammy Davis Junior in the three-runner Advanced Medium. Kuehnle also saw off four rivals to win (70.31) the Cannon-assessed Medium DI65 on the 15-year-old Imperial Hights bay who, qualified for the Olympics, is being aimed at the CCI4*-L at Kronenberg, following a prep run in an Open/Novice class at Lincolnshire.

Victory

While she recorded an uncontested victory, it was good to see Belinda Brereton follow up her outing at Spruce Lodge last month, when scoring 67.13% in the Cannon-assessed Grand Prix Special on Deco, her 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Painted Black.

Cannon also judged the three-runner FEI Inter I, which was won by Marguerite Kavanagh on her 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Danciano SR (68.24%), and the FEI Pony individual test, where Aoife Nee topped the leaderboard with the seven-year-old German Riding Pony Maracuja AG (69.05). In the FEI Pony team test, judged by Michael Moore, Nee and the Movie Star chesnut had to settle for third (69.14) behind Laragh Byrne and her European championships ride Steendieks Dali Gold (71.29) and Kate Murphy with Top Hero 2 (69.86).

All five Trailblazers’ classes were also judged by Cannon, who awarded his highest score (76.80%) to Aoife Crean, who claimed the three-runner Junior Preliminary class on board Anne Clune’s 18-year-old bay mare Ragazza Bella.

Bee Sykes struck twice in the well-filled non-restricted Preliminary classes with her Hanoverian gelding Con Caballito. In the Bróna O’Mahony-judged BD18, Sykes and the 13-year-old Christ bay scored 75.63%, while they topped Ruth Daunt’s leaderboard in the DI8 on 70.77.

Rose Grimes won both Junior Elementary classes on her mother Vanessa’s Irish Sport Horse mare JBF Riverfield Rebel. In the Cannon-judged BD53, Grimes and the 14-year-old Ricardo Z chesnut scored 65.88% to beat their sole rival, while they posted a score of 65.56 in the Moore-judged DI52 to record an uncontested victory.

Uncontested doubles were recorded on the day by Killian Gaffney riding his 14-year-old Holstein gelding Coretto in the two Advanced classes and by Cadhla Curran and the seven-year-old German Riding Pony HS in the FEI children on horses classes.

Bee Sykes, who scored a double in the non-restricted Preliminary classes at CoilÓg with her Hanoverian gelding Con Caballito \ Louise O’Brien Photography

High score

The highest score of the day, 76.32%, was awarded in the first of the Elementary classes, the BD53, by Jillie Rogers to Elaine Murphy for her test on her 14-year-old ISH mare QT An Tanaiste. In the Michael Moore-judged DI52, Murphy and her Vida Tansey-bred Quaterback chesnut finished second (68.06) behind German native Rika Schmeling and the unregistered Florine (70.97), a 15-year-old bay Rhinelander mare by Filius Bedo.

Winning scores of 70%+ were recorded in the first of the Junior Novice classes by Georgia Cadogan with the dun Irish Sport Horse mare Stars Of Jupiter (70), an eight-year-old daughter of Glenayre Mystical Bobby and, in the first of the non-restricted Novice classes, by John Gavin with his ISH gelding Holywell Contender (74.48), his six-year-old son of Contendro I.

The next Leinster Region show is a two-day fixture at the National Sport Horse Arena over the weekend of April 27th and 28th. Prior to that, the Region has booked the Cheval Riding Club grounds at Jordanstown, Oldtown, for training at Elementary and Medium levels with Dermot Cannon (theory), National Grand Prix champion Kevin Acres (lesson) and Michael Moore (test riding).