EARLY competitors had to endure some wet and windy weather conditions last Sunday at Frankfort Stud where the Island Branch hosted the fifth qualifier for this season’s Irish Pony Club/Connolly’s Red Mills eventing championships.

The Kearney family’s Co Wexford venue attracted an entry of just over 260 combinations in seven classes which required a similar number of dressage arenas. There were two show jumping rings in use where the tracks were built by William Kearney as were those across the country.

Disappointingly, as is so often the case these days, there was no Open class, but a strong field of 29 started in the Intermediate of whom three retired on the final leg while seven were eliminated. There was an all-the-way success for the Kildare Branch’s Anna Nangle who had three points in hand over her nearest rival when completing on her winning dressage score of 20 penalties.

Nangle’s mount was the well-known Connemara Blackwoodland Breeze, a 12-year-old Glencarrig Prince gelding on whom she won once and was placed third three times this year under Eventing Ireland rules.

Only four of the 22 starters in the Intro Intermediate left all the poles intact in their show jumping phase with three of these, who filled the top three places, also going clear across the country. Here, there was another clear-cut victory as Shillelagh’s Jane Fitzgerald finished on her first phase score on Broomfield Banner (27.8), the 11-year-old Silver Banner gelding with whom she won the EI90 at Rosanna (2) the previous weekend.

There was a third all-the-way success in Section A of the Junior class where the honours narrowly went to the Carlow Branch’s Hannah Kelly and the 13-year-old Cavalier Land gelding Dermish Angel (24) who were following up their win at Bunclody. Section B was won by the Killinicks’ Kate Walsh on her dressage score with the six-year-old dun gelding Rathmanna Check (25.3) but the winning total of the Section C winners, South Union’s Rian Tagney and the 2016 skewbald gelding JVS Jester Million (20.3), included four show jumping penalties.

The honours continued to be spread around at Under 12 level where Section A was won on her amazing dressage score of 10 penalties by Waterford’s Julie McDonald and another very well-known Connemara gelding, Shanbo Hazel’s Boy, a 17-year-old bay by Monaghanstown Boy. Not too surprisingly, the leader after dressage in Section B on 18.5 penalties was Tipperary’s Evie Kennedy who went on to complete on that score with the Connemara gelding Ballymurray Star, an 18-year-old grey by Glenayre Silver Fox.

The Shillelagh & District Branch is hosting today’s sixth round of the Red Mills series at the Tinahely Riding Club grounds in Coolboy, Co Wicklow.