BOTH the Intro and Pre-Novice dressage classes were divided at last Saturday’s third leg of the 2024 Baileys Horse Feeds flexi eventing series at The Meadows.

Better known on the show jumping circuit, Tyrone’s Robert Newell made a winning dressage debut when landing Section A of the Intro with a score of 74.5%. Newell was on board his Irish Sport Horse gelding Louis The Thirteenth, a 10-year-old Sligo Candy Boy gelding that he purchased as a foal from Padraig Howley.

In this 33-strong division, judged by Jacky Reid, Comber law student Katie McKee finished second with Wendy Anderson’s traditionally-bred Elusive Clover (71.8), a six-year-old mare by Elusive Emir.

In Section B, 34 combinations appeared before Martina McKinley, who awarded her highest score to Amy Smith and the Connemara stallion Lisross Irish Knight (71.3%), on whom she finished fourth of 33 in an EI80 (Q) at Rosanna 1 last season.

As a member of Headfort, Smyth also competes with the Association of Irish Riding Clubs on ‘Mylo’, who is by Gwennic De Goariva and was bred in Co Donegal by Yvonne Fox out of her Robe Thunder dun mare, Glenvale Diamond.

Sharing second place on 71% were the aforementioned Katie McKee, here riding her own Water Paint (aka Bear) and Zara Reid with her father Gary’s Greylands Diamond Girl. McKee hit the target in Section B of the Pre-Novice, where she and Water Paint, a nine-year-old skewbald gelding, topped Jacky Reid’s scores on 73%, followed by Dundonald’s Katie O’Reilly and her 20-year-old skewbald gelding Indian Dreamer

Nicola Martin riding Misty, winners of the Pre Novice A Dressage at the Flexi Eventing on January 27 \ Tori O'Connor

Section A was judged by Coreen Abernethy, whose winner was Nicola Martin on her Irish Draught mare Dundrum Misty Blue (71%), who she competed twice under EI rules last season and in performance ID classes. The six-year-old Killinick Bouncer grey was bred out of her Holycross mare, Holy Cross Mist by the Ploughing Championships’ Anna Maria McHugh.

Showing no ill-effects from the fire, which forced a sudden exit from their lorry the previous weekend, Claire Ireland and Goin For Gold finished a close-up second (70.5).