THE Leinster Region of Dressage Ireland held its Winter League Final last Sunday at CoilÓg, a venue which is becoming increasingly popular with riders and, even more so, with show organisers who have four arenas at their disposal.

While she would credit the ‘ground crew’ of Regional chairperson Clare Fitzsimons, Petra Larkin, Linda Gaynor and Rebecca Mills for the smooth running of the show on the day, Lorna O’Hare takes care of the technical matters in the background and she was rewarded for her efforts by winning both the Elementary and Medium leagues with DBS Second Chance.

On Sunday, O’Hare and her 14-year-old chesnut gelding finished seventh (64.82%) in the better-supported Elementary class (DI55) which was won by Anne O’Dowd and the 15-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Until Proven Guilty (69.29).

The Medium DI67, in which O’Hare achieved a score of 61.36, was won by Rachel Dowley on Marie Symington’s four-star eventer Global Mentor, an 11-year-old ISH gelding by Mermus R.

In the Medium DI77, the honours went to the Northern Region’s Ellen McDonald and her father Jim’s 12-year-old Dutch Riding Pony, Dante Alighieri (71.71).

Side-saddle exponent Helen Cooke made a strong bid to win the Novice league but she and her nine-year-old Emperor August gelding, Lackaghbeg Augustus Star, had to settle for second behind Lucy Maughan and the 15-year-old bay gelding Valley View Sammy.

Both of Sunday’s Novice classes were won by another Northern Region raider, Denise Kelly Rice riding Pamela Combs Wilson’s Westfalian mare Forvanna, a five-year-old daughter of Formidable.

Caroline Lynch warmed up for tomorrow’s Horse Sport Ireland affiliated combined training challenge final here at CoilÓg by winning the two Preliminary classes last Sunday with her ISH mare Quora, a six-year-old chesnut by Golden Lariat.

The league honours however went to Chloe Stapleton and the 12-year-old thoroughbred mare My Rachael. The Tikkanen bay, who is out of the Zaffaran mare The Wee Duchess, ran four times in point-to-points, concluding her racing career in February 2016.

She comes from the family of top-class chaser Beau Ranger.

The Eastern Region of DI held its first show of the year last Saturday at Marlton Stud where, on her seasonal debut, Emily Kate Robinson recorded a double at Elementary and Medium levels with her home-bred Dutch Warmblood mare Kekepania, a seven-year-old by Lingh out of Vitania (by Jazz).

David Freeney topped the leaderboard in both Novice classes on Stephen Byrne’s nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding CLS Icon (by Johnson)