THE heavy rain which caused flooding in the area and forced the cancellation of racing at Wexford on both Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday, thankfully didn’t start falling until those who rode in the arena eventing competitions at Wexford Equestrian on Saturday had headed home.

The Tomhaggard venue played host to the fourth, standalone leg of the 2023 Horse Sport Ireland eventing autumn development series. On a mainly sunny day, competitors performed their dressage tests in two outdoor sand arenas before Jill Spring or Sarah Jane Doyle, show jumping took place indoors, while the cross-country phase was held in the sand Derby arena. The prizes were presented by HSI’s media and communications executive, Jennifer Diamond.

There was an excellent turn-out for the HSI horse classes with local rider Sophie Richards seeing off 21 rivals to win the six and seven-year-old division on her dressage score (28 penalties), with the Irish Sport Horse gelding Magherard Candy. Owned by the rider and Maurice Cousins, this 2017 Sligo Candy Boy bay was bred in Co Donegal by Caolan Harkin out of the NC Amiro mare Magherard Faith. He was purchased by his present connections as a three-year-old.

“We have been bringing this horse along slowly,” said Richards. “He was show jumping in 2021 and 2022 and last year also did a couple of unregistered events. This season, we competed five times with Eventing Ireland and I plan to do more eventing with this fellow, and another six-year-old (Monbeg Balou), next season.”

On their first affiliated start, at Kilguilkey House in May, Richards and Magherard Candy finished third of 39 in the EI100; on their last outing of the season, at Grove roughly a month later, they placed seventh of 39 in the EI110.

Winner of the HSI Autumn development series five-year-old class at Wexford Equestrian Ardeo on Q ridden by Melanie Wrynn \ Justin Black, Millstreet Horse Photography

Five-year-olds

As he finished second here on the ISH gelding Ardeo Spring (29.5), a seven-year-old by OBOS Quality 004, Neil Wrynn handed the family’s bragging rights on the day to his wife Melanie who landed the five-year-old class with Ardeo On Q. The Co Wicklow rider completed on her dressage score (27.25) as did this year’s European Young Rider eventing team silver medallist and individual bronze winner Alannah Kelly, who placed second on Cooley Capri Sun (28.25), an ISH gelding by Capri Van Overis Z.

Wrynn won the Milchem Equestrian leg of this series on the ISH gelding Ardeo On Q, who she is also competing in the HSI dressage development league, finishing third on the OBOS Quality 004 bay at Ballindenisk on Monday. She is taking him to CoilÓg tomorrow for the dressage final and will be back there seven days later for the last leg of the eventing series. Ardeo On Q, who was bred in Co Clare by David Williams out of the Canturano mare Ashton Ena, is described as a “bouncy fellow” by Wrynn who continued: “These HSI competitions have completely nailed it for him. Neil and I decided we would target these classes but we knew we would have to up our game and it’s great to see that the lessons we are getting from Kevin Acres are paying off.”

Joint winner of the HSI Autumn Development League four-year-old class at Wexford Equestrian Belline Newtown Douglas ridden by Charlie Boardman \ Justin Black Millstreet Horse Photography

Four-year-olds

Richard Ames’ Belline Equestrian team began their near total domination of the 2023 young event horse classes here at Wexford Equestrian’s Stepping Stones to Success league and showed they had lost none of their edge in last Saturday’s four-year-old HSI class.

Two of their riders, who joined the Piltown yard this year, shared the spoils on their dressage scores (22.25, with the same collective marks). Senior stable jockey Robbie Kearns partnered the ISH gelding Belline Super Ted, who qualified through the Young Eventhorse Series to compete at Dublin in August, while Charlie Boardman rode Belline Newtown Douglas, another ISH gelding, on whom Caitie Slater finished second in the Stepping Stones league and final here in April. Belline Super Ted, who was bred in Co Waterford by Vahe Bogossian, is by Sligo Candy Boy out of Ballinamonapark Quality (by OBOS Quality 004), while his stable-companion is by Belline Second Chance and was bred by Ronan Tynan out of the Warrenstown You 2 mare Newtown Queen.