THE South Munster Region of Dressage Ireland has had a busy couple of weekends, with a show at Maryville Stables last Sunday and one seven days earlier at Greybrook West. Sunday’s show featured winter championship classes for regional Munster members.

Ciara Egan (List 5) judged the three Trailblazer championships, won by Stephanie Fleming on Orla Whelton’s 25-year-old Welsh gelding Mountain Ash Of Glendu (72.61% in the Intro), Maria Fleming Hand with the same owner’s 15-year-old part-bred Welsh mare Whiteleaze Secret Temptation (70.79 in the Under 12s) and Esther Drake on the 15-year-old Connemara mare Coleen’s Surprise (66.05 in the Junior Preliminary).

Egan also judged the Introduction to Dressage championship, where she awarded her highest score to Heather Barry riding the unregistered Lenny (72.35%).

Eleven combinations appeared before Joan Ahern (List 2) in the Preliminary championship class, the DI6, where the runaway winner on the very impressive score of 79.42% was pony rider Amber Lane with Fiona Goor’s 20-year-old Rotherwood Statesman gelding Barkway State Affair.

Ahern also judged the three-runner Medium BD69 championship class, where the highest score (65.15%) was achieved by Gavin Smiddy on his Irish Sport Horse gelding DSH Showtime (65.15%), a nine-year-old three-star eventer by OBOS Quality 004, and the three-runner Advanced Medium, won by Jessica Grogan and Laura Hagger’s 18-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Christianson (67.05).

Danielle Carey (List 3) assessed those forward in the other two championship classes, awarding her highest scores to Sophia Mackey with the 21-year-old Scottish Warmblood gelding Wagner V.U. (71.38%) in the four-runner Novice DI27A and to Ana Hughes with her ISH gelding Sligo Dark Knight (70.93), a 15-year-old son of Lancelot, in the six-strong Elementary DI51.

Winning scores of 70%+ were also recorded in two non-championship classes. These were the Carey-judged Preliminary BD19, won by Rosemaire Ahern O’Gorman with the unregistered Suileen Bouncer (72.08), a five-year-old Irish Draught gelding by Moylough Bouncer, and the Egan-judged DI5A in the short arena, where Katie McKeon claimed the honours on the seven-year-old West Coast Cavalier mare Elden Cavalier Roulette (71.61).

Inclement

Unfortunately, the weather was very inclement on Sunday, February 25th, when the South Munster Region staged its first show at Greybrook West outside Bandon, which some still possibly refer to as the West Cork Equine Centre. The fixture was promoted as being ideal for new members or young horses.

While classes were advertised up to Advanced level, there were no takers higher than Medium and that sole entry didn’t meet their engagement. Joan Ahern (List 2) only had two to judge at Elementary level, Alice Roch Perks achieving a score of 69.07% in the EI51 on Bornio, while Sean Hodnett scored 65 in the BD59 on Huntsman RED.

Ahern awarded her highest score of the day to Jessica Coveney and the unregistered Bishops Hall Joe (74.31%) in the Novice DI27A, where there were five starters and four withdrawals. All three entries in the second Novice class, the BD39, withdrew. Ahern also judged the Preliminary DI6, where there were five withdrawals. Best of the four starters was Ana Hughes with Captain Flint (72.31).

Eileen Moloney (List 6) judged the other two Preliminary classes, where her winners were Laura Hagger with Aon Rud Eile (68.33%) in the three-runner BD19 and Beth Coveney with the unregistered Foran’s Daylight (72.14) in the DI5A. It probably said a lot about driving conditions as, on a day when the rain was described as ‘horizontal’, half of the 12 entries didn’t start in this short arena class, although it was staged indoors.

With only one withdrawal, 11 combinations appeared before Moloney in the Introduction to Dressage class, won by Holly O’Leary and the unregistered Kermit The Frog (69.71%), while there were seven starters in the Under 12 Trailblazers’ class, where the highest score was achieved by Maria Fleming Hand on Whiteleaze Secret Temptation (70.26).

Next Saturday, March 16th, Ballindenisk will be the venue for the twice-postponed final of the Childeric autumn/winter league, which was run jointly by the North and South Munster Regions. The Northern Region winter finals will be held at Danescroft seven days later, while entries are now open, and will close on March 24th, for the Dressage Ireland national winter finals at Mullingar over the weekend of April 6th and 7th.