THE Treo Eile league for thoroughbred horses, run throughout the 2023 Eventing Ireland season, was won by Amy Walsh, who accumulated 66 points at EI90 (Amateur) level on Trucking Along.

A 17-year-old brown gelding by Zagreb, Trucking Along was bred in Co Wexford by Michael Doyle, out of the Strong Gale mare Pegus Gold.

He won a point-to-point maiden and three hurdle races when trained between 2010 and 2016 by former international event rider, Stuart Crawford.

“I wasn’t necessarily looking for a thoroughbred to compete, but my sister Ruth is very friendly with Stuart’s wife, Jill (a fellow physiotherapist), who suggested we come up and look at ‘Ollie’ who was being retired. We did, loved the way he moved on the flat and took him back down to Co Cork with us.”

Walsh started eventing Trucking Along in early July 2018, but, after two runs, it was thought he would benefit from more time off and he didn’t appear again until just over a year later.

“It took time for everything to come right, but I knew last season that things were improving and he really turned the corner this year,” revealed Walsh.

From nine outings in 2023, Walsh and Trucking Along recorded wins at Scarteen, Hillcrest (3) and Kilguilkey House (3), while they were placed on four other occasions.

Busy mother

“He felt better than ever this season and, while he will be 18 next year, and raced until he was 10, I hope we will be able to continue eventing,” said Walsh, who is a veterinary surgeon with the Duntahane Veterinary Clinic in Fermoy and mother of two young girls, Molly (eight) and Hannah (five).

“I used to work full-time and do the normal rotations between large and small animals, but, since having the two girls, I now work part-time and mainly with small animals,” said Walsh whose husband, Kevin Lenihan, is also a veterinary surgeon, but doesn’t ride.

Upgraded

Cathal Murphy finished second with Operation Overload (56 points), a 10-year-old Oscar gelding, who was placed once in three point-to-point maidens during the 2018/’19 season when trained by Enda Bolger for JP McManus.

Murphy, who works in the nominations department at Castlehyde Stud (part of the Coolmore group), began competing the Noreen McManus-bred bay at EI90 level in June 2021 and upgraded the following April; they recorded two EI100 (Amateur) successes last autumn.

This season, from nine starts at the same level, they won once and were placed on numerous occasions.

Amateur rider Joanna Jones, who won once at EI100 level this season and twice in EI90 company, finished third on Dogora (48).

The 14-year-old grey by Robin Des Pres ran twice on the flat in his native France before joining the Willie Mullins yard from where he won two hurdle races and was placed over fences.

He last ran at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting in 2015 and had one outing under EI rules in 2018. He next appeared last year when he won on his two starts.