THE Midland and Western Region of Dressage Ireland held its first show of the year last Sunday at Annaharvey Farm where, on a blustery day, the judges on duty were Bernie Webb (List 3a) and Clare Fitzsimons (List 4). There were quite a few non-runners.

Fitzsimons had charge of the morning session, when her tenure ended with the six-runner Novice DI21. Here, Category 1 rider Niamh Macken topped the overall leaderboard on her Irish Draught gelding Diamond King Henry (70%), who she also competes in dressage and showing with the Association of Irish Riding Clubs, as a member of Mullingar.

This win brought up a double for Macken, who had come out on top in the preceding Preliminary DI18 with Diamond King Henry (72.08%), a nine-year-old King Alton bay, who was bred in Co Westmeath by Michael Reynolds out of the Rosheen Yeats mare Wicklow Diamonds. This was the combination’s first Dressage Ireland outing since last year’s national championships.

There were three Category 2 riders in that 10-strong class, with Lily Larkin posting the highest score (71.46%) on board Emmet Kelly’s Pippas Harlequin Lady, with whom she had earlier won (71.79) the DI15 in the short arena. An eight-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare by Harlequin du Carel, the chesnut was bred in Co Waterford by Vahe Bogossian out of Ballinamonapark Pippa (by Krafty Clover).

Trailblazers

The opening Trailblazers classes were won by Ben Mahon on the 27-year-old 128cm Welsh pony mare Joyton Regal Princess (Children Under 12) and, uncontested, by Lucy Ferris and the 18-year-old grey mare Queen Cassie (Junior Under 16).

Webb judged eight classes in the afternoon, starting with the Novice DI24A where, from three starters, both Matilda Falkhede on Darrara Shanbeg and Abbey Ferris on How Ya Sammy scored 66.83%. Falkhede recorded the higher collective score (61 to 60) with her Irish Sport Horse gelding Darrara Shanbeg, a 15-year-old bay by VDL Arkansas.

Evie Kennedy and her mother Maeve’s Connemara gelding Blackwoodland Breeze, a 14-year-old Glencarrig Prince grey, who is just as talented over jumps, won the three-runner DI51 on 67.78%. However, in the second of the Elementary classes, the DI55 in which four combinations came before Webb, the Tipperary raiders had to settle for second (67.50) behind Co Laois’ Sophia Doheny and her mother Louise’s Trakehner gelding Saratoga SBS (67.86), a 12-year-old brown son of Oliver Twist.

Maeve Deverell riding Qarma Von Blommerschot, owned by Louise Doheny of Slieve Bloom Stud, to win the FEI Pony Team Test at Annaharvey Farm \ Aisling Deverell

Home double

On home-ground, Maeve Deverell recorded a double. She first saw off two rivals to land the sole Medium class (DI67) with the ISH mare Annaharvey Firefly (68.79%), an 11-year-old Floriscount bay, who is owned by her mother Aisling and was bred by her father Sam, out of Annaharvey Royale (by Cavalier Royale).

Deverell had two rides in the four-runner FEI pony team test, claiming the honours on Louise Doheny’s Belgian Warmblood mare Qarma Van Blommerschot (65.86%), a 12-year-old by the Welsh stallion Nia Domo’s Bolero, and finishing second with Derravaragh Boy (65.57). That 2012 roan gelding was Deverell’s sole ride in the three-runner FEI pony individual test but here too, Derravaragh Boy had to settle for the runner-up spot (65), behind the Aoife Nee-partnered German riding pony Maracuja AG (66.89), a seven-year-old chesnut son of Movie Star.

Just half of the six entries in the afternoon’s sole Advanced Medium class (DI90) appeared before Webb, who awarded her highest score (64.41%) to Tracy Murphy riding her own Dutch Warmblood gelding Kennedy, a nine-year-old by Future, while Cadhla Curran recorded an uncontested victory in the FEI children’s team test on the family’s well-known Connemara gelding Southeast Starlight (67.4%), a 17-year-old Carraig Galen Miller grey.

Special prizes

Some additional prizes were presented on the day, kindly sponsored by Rachael Rothwell Equine Therapy. Niamh Macken and Diamond King Henry won Best Turned Out for the morning session, while Mai Monahan and Carrickfad Cloud Break were named Best Turned Out in the afternoon. The Highest Score of the Day went to Lucy Ferris and Queen Cassie, who scored 72.86% in the Junior Trailblazers U16 class.