THOSE who rode their dressage tests in Arena 3 at Loughanmore last Saturday were surprised to find that the person assessing them was none other than Jean Mitchell MBE, who returned to the ranks of judges at a Northern Region one-day when her good friend Dora Beacom, the event secretary, was forced to find a very late replacement on Friday evening.

Well known in the role by older riders here and worldwide, Jean, who coaches the Northern Region’s trainee judges along with Joanne Jarden, judged five classes on Saturday at EI110, EI100 and EI90 levels.