MEMBERS of the Irish Pony Club will have their attention centred this weekend on the IPC/Connolly’s Red Mills eventing championships at Tattersalls Ireland, where there are nearly 400 combinations entered.

Last week, it was combined training that qualified riders focussed on at the Dublin Horse Show where the dressage phase took place in Ring 1 on Friday afternoon while the jumping phase over a working hunter track was staged in Ring 2 just over 24 hours later. The judge for the competition was the USA’s Sally Ike.

In the Intermediate class, after a closer look at the figures, there was a win for the Area 4 representative, Isabelle Barry, riding her mother Ann’s nine-year-old Connemara gelding Kildromin Mentor on whom the Waterford Branch member is leading going into today’s Intermediate eventing league final.

Barry and Clodagh Shanahan-Rice on the six-year-old Ars Vivendi mare Coolfinn Vivendi both completed on their dressage score of 151%.

Bidding to bring up a Dublin Horse Show double for her family, East Galway’s Katie Gibbons led after the flatwork phase on her mother Marie Dunne’s Milchem Mischief (157) but the six-year-old Carnhill Bertas Lad picked up eight jumping penalties on Saturday to drop to third.

In the Members’ class, the honours went to Amelia McCarthy riding her mother Zazel’s Irish Sport Horse mare Finsceal Endeavour with whom she competes in EI100 (J) classes on the affiliated eventing scene. The Meath Branch member and the seven-year-old Metropole bay also picked up eight jumping penalties on day two but they had established a clear lead in the dressage phase so won on a total of 151.5.

Ten points adrift in second was the very much in-form Alana-Rose Steele of the United Branch who recorded a clear round with the six-year-old Fly Away Ali gelding MBF Lord Lancer Bobbie. Tipperary’s Alison Fitzgerald finished third on the 13-year-old Porsch gelding Manderlay (139) who picked up three time faults.