LAST Sunday, the Irish Pony Club/Connolly’s Red Mills eventing series moved on to the Ponsonby family’s Grove Estate outside Fethard where the event was run by the Tipperary Hunt Branch who had taken steps to ensure that ponies and horses didn’t suffer because of the heat.

“We were fortunate that there is a river in Grove so we left plenty of buckets around so that riders could wash down their ponies when they had finished their cross-country round. Also, there are lots of wonderful old trees on the estate which provided plenty of shade throughout the day,” commented the Tipperarys’ Assistant District Commissioner, Joan Fox.

“The Branch would like to thank the Ponsonby family for allowing us run the event at Grove. We had a lot of local volunteers helping on the day and we’d also like to thank the Order of Malta for their assistance. Unfortunately, they were called on to bring one young rider to hospital but she was allowed home once checked over.

“We ran 10 different classes, including a Novice Junior class, and attracted a big entry. We ran over much of the cross-country tracks designed and built by the Brady Brothers for the Eventing Ireland one-day event at Grove at the end of last month but did have to build our own 80cms track.”

Co Limerick’s Tim Collins scored his first league points of the season when claiming the Intermediate class on his winning dressage score with Wavecrest (23.25 penalties), a 25-year-old Sea Crest mare. In the Intro Intermediate, the honours went to the Golden Vale’s Ben Nolan who was left in front with the nine-year-old bay mare Lady Bella Seskin (30.5) when the early leaders had problems in one or other of the jumping phases.

The Junior class was divided into four sections where the winners were Bray’s Ava Corcoran-Lyden riding Sonador (Section A), the Ward Union’s Charlotte Cully with the Connemara gelding Colemanstown Fred (Section B), a nine-year-old grey by Killyon King, The Kingdom’s Yvonne Daly on the 20-year-old grey gelding Woodfield Prancer (Section C) with whom she won an EI90 (P) at Punchestown in May, and Kildare’s Evan Martin on the 13-year-old grey mare HB Miss Kizzy (Section D).

The efforts of the Tipperary Branch in running this qualifier were rewarded when members won all three Under 12 sections through Maggie Anthony and the amazing 23-year-old grey gelding Carriganog Rince (Section A), the in-form Evie Kennedy with the Connemara gelding Ballymurray Star (Section B), an 18-year-old grey by Glenayre Silver Fox, and Sarah Kennedy riding the Connemara gelding Savanose Bobby (Section C), an 18-year-old dun mare by Gloves Bobby.

Lucy Jolly of the Waterford Branch won the well-supported Novice Junior class with another Connemara gelding, Ballyerk Galileo, a 12-year-old roan by Rickamore Tattler.

A round of the IPC/Connolly’s Red Mills series was held on Wednesday at Sleedagh Farm in Co Wexford. It will be covered in next Saturday’s column as will tomorrow’s legs at Ballindenisk and Punchestown.