IT has been a busy few weeks at Ballindenisk where the Fell family held their first international event of the season over the last weekend of April and the second of two spring point-to-points run by the United Hunt on Sunday, May 14th.

Today, hosted by the South Union Branch, Area 5 of the Irish Pony Club is holding its Festival Area qualifier in combined training, dressage and show jumping at Ballindenisk where, tomorrow, the venue will be home to Midleton Agricultural Show.

Last Sunday’s Dressage Ireland show, which was run at Ballindenisk by the South Munster Region, would have been a quiet affair in comparison to those fixtures, particularly from Medium level up where there were very few starters.

Five classes on the day were won by their sole participants, however all of these scored over 70%.

Joan Ahern (List 2) had expected two competitors to come before her in the FEI Prix St George but was instead faced with just Sue Smallman and her Dutch Warmblood gelding Gloriant H, a 12-year-old by Upjohn, who scored 70.88%. Rachel Dowley was the only rider with an entry in the FEI Preliminary competition for five-year-olds where she scored 74% on her Dutch Warmblood mare GFL Nava, a dark brown daughter of For Romance on whom she had recently won a more competitive class in England.

Ahern also judged the FEI Para Grade IV Grand Prix A where Rosemary Gaffney scored 71.81% with her new ride for 2023, Freedom. This Hanoverian gelding by Floriscount is out of Luthien, a daughter of the thoroughbred stallion Lauries Crusador.

The two Medium classes, which too were judged by Ahern, attracted the same two starters and both were won by Clíona Ní Liatháin with her Joanne Jarden-bred Irish Sport Horse mare MJI Lady Alceis. There were two starters also in the Ahern-judged Advanced Medium classes, Grainne Murphy achieving 66.28 in the BD91 with her PRE gelding Hogareno SB while Meabh Hennessy posted the higher score in the FEI Junior individual test on her veteran ISH gelding Snoop Dogg (64.85).

Marian Slattery (List 4) judged three of the better-supported classes and her winners were Rebecca Hayes with Hash Brown (68.75%) in the long arena Preliminary DI5A, Michaela Steyn Keating with JJ Lady Gregory (67.22) in the Elementary DI51 and Elizabeth Frayling with Bedelia (70.65) in the second Elementary class, the BD55. Slattery was also due to judge the sole Novice class that had attracted entries, the BD37A, but all three were withdrawn.

Sue Ryan (List 6) had a varied day starting with the DI Introductory C Test where, with seven combinations to assess, she awarded her highest score to David Raeburn on Leary (65%). In the DI P5A in the short arena, Ryan had two combinations on 70.36, Eilis McCarthy with Sail On Diamond (who had a collective score of 63.5) and Aine Griffin aboard Cocktail De Riverland (64.5).

Clodagh Walsh appeared before Ryan twice on Sunday with her Connemara mare Knockavalley Mai, a 13-year-old grey by Kingstown Fionn on whom she recorded uncontested wins in the FEI Para Grade 1 Intro A (71.67%) and the Intro B (71.11)

There was only the one Trailblazer class, the Preliminary DI5A in the short arena where Ryan’s winner was Alexis Jordan on Ms Rainbow Dash (64.82).

This weekend there are four DI shows – in the South East, Northern, North Munster and Midland & Western Regions. Next Saturday and Sunday, the Leinster Region will have the stage to itself as it stages the annual Botanica International Summer Festival which will incorporate Leg 5 of the Region’s Ark Equine Derby spring/summer league. This year, the Festival has been moved from the National Horse Sport Arena to CoilÓg Equestrian, Co Kildare.