SIMONE Hession was still on a high mid-week as she reflected on the success of last weekend’s Horseware Wild Atlantic Dressage Festival which she, backed up by an excellent team of committee members, officials and volunteers, ran at the Ard Chuain Equestrian Centre in Co Sligo.

“There was a seemingly endless list of friends and colleagues who were happy to help me and show that it’s possible to run a big dressage festival in the West of Ireland,” said Hession who, thanks to a rota of friends/grooms, was able to compete herself.

“The venue is ideal as, while some people stayed on-site, there are plenty of yards within five to 10 minutes where horses could be stabled and there are lots of B&Bs and hotels in Ballina and Enniscrone.

“One person, visiting the area for the first time, stayed in Enniscrone and has already planned a summer visit to the Wild Atlantic Way.

“Hopefully, the weather will be better for her then but the rain wasn’t too bad at all – just what we’d term a West of Ireland mist! I could organise everything else but not the weather!

“Everyone seemed to be happy with the festival and we have had some great feedback from competitors whose numbers increased from 75 both days in 2019 to 120 both days this time around.

“Thanks to these numbers, the auction we held on Saturday night, in aid of the Irish Cancer Society, raised €2,500.

“The volunteers were wonderful and many helped on both days. We also had some great sponsorship particularly from Horseware who were title sponsors. Unfortunately, no one could represent them at Ard Chuain but I would particularly like to thank Clare Silke (Product Innovation Manager) for all her efforts.

“We had great support too from Dressage Ireland and Horse Sport Ireland whose Catherine Meenaghan looks after all the promotional work and social media for the festival; I send her all the information and she has the technical skill to get it out into the public domain. She’s very good at it!”

It was a bitter-sweet occasion for Simone who was delighted to have the festival back up and running following the pandemic-enforced cancellations in 2020 and 2021 but it was also the first major event she has organised since the sudden death of her mother, Julia, in July last year.

The new Julia Hession memorial trophy, sponsored by A.J. Hession & Co Accountants for the highest-placed Connemara, went to the seven-year-old Killaloe Buachaill Mór mare Rickamore Tansie who, ridden by Lilly Larkin, competed in the Novice Championship.

Gillespies Menswear and Sport Shop Tubbercurry sponsored the awards for leading junior rider, leading senior rider and leading owner .

They were won respectively by Sophia Doheny, Rachel Dowley and the latter’s grandmother, Mickey Purcell, who was represented by Cadens, Insticator B.S., GFL Flashdance and GFL Nava.