AT the 2016 Dublin Horse Show, Susie Doyle won the working hunter pony championship on the Saturday with Fiona O’Dwyer’s Knocklucas Chloe while, as the show came to its conclusion the following afternoon, Louise Lyons claimed the horse working hunter crown on Paulette Cooper’s MJM Laszlo.

Last Sunday, at the Co Limerick Foxhounds’ point-to-point in Rathcannon, Doyle brought up a double in the concluding six-year-old and upwards maiden on the Lyons-trained Golden Bald, a French-bred gelding who was having his third start, and she now leads the lady riders’ championship with seven wins this season.

From Holycross, Co Tipperary and a daughter of leading point-to-point handler Pat Doyle, Susie has only once competed at Dublin following her triumph on Knocklucas Chloe. “On the Friday of that 2016 Horse Show, I finished fifth in the Pony Club members’ combined training championship on Herbst Acapella and, two years later, I jumped him in the young riders’ 1.30m championship but didn’t get through to the final.

“When I came out of the arena on the last day I jumped there, I was approached by the vet Tim Brennan who bought the horse for his kids to compete. They had a lot of good results and the horse has since been sold to the States.”

Having completed a four-year degree in Business & Marketing at MTU in Cork, Doyle has decided to take time out before looking for a job. “There’s no rush on that and I wanted to give winning the ladies’ championship a go. There are a lot of horses in work at home so they are happy to have me here.”

There are no sport horses at the Doyle yard at present but don’t be surprised if Susie emulates Lyons one day by winning the racehorse to riding horse championship at Dublin. “My mother (Mary) and I are currently re-training Reigning Supreme who I won two open point-to-points on in 2020.” An 11-year-old Presenting gelding, Reigning Supreme won two hurdle races and a chase when trained in England by Nicky Henderson for Constitution Hill’s owner, Michael Buckley.