HARRY Payne, who is on List 1 with British Dressage, divided the judging duties at the Eastern Region show in Marlton last Sunday with Dressage Ireland’s Vanda Stewart (List 2).

Running a day after Spruce Lodge may well have affected the number of entries and, perhaps anticipating a lot of rain, there were withdrawals on the day with few starters at Elementary level upwards.

However, those who did take part were glad to have the opportunity to compete before two high listed judges, commencing at Preliminary level where, of course, there were far more starters.

Payne awarded his highest score in the Preliminary BD15 to the sole Category 2 rider at this level, Sadhbh O’Toole with her Dutch Warmblood gelding Next Diamond (74%), a five-year-old bay by Daily Diamond out of Vajda (by Kennedy). This combination recorded a score of 75.42 in the Stewart-judged DI P18 where the leaderboard was topped by Niamh Winter on Josephine Delahoyde’s eight-year-old piebald mare Marlton Rose (77.08) who warmed up for this challenge with a win at Spruce Lodge on Saturday.

Skyla Nally achieved Stewart’s highest score in the Novice DI N24A on the unregistered Irish Sport Horse mare Jaxlexi (75.33%).

This 10-year-old grey by Jack Of Diamonds earned the bulk of her 120+ DI points between early November 2018 and August 2021. She spent last season show jumping with Jazmine Arthur, landing two CSI1* classes at Oliva in Spain during October. Payne’s winner of the BD N23 was the Siofra Pratt-owned and ridden ISH mare Ballarin My Grace (68.75), a traditionally-bred 10-year-old daughter of Kings Master.

Ridden by Petra Larkin, the unregistered Delilah Blue B (68.52%), a 1.20m show jumper, topped Payne’s scores in the DI E51 while Stewart’s winner of the second Elementary class, the BD57, was the Roisin Winters-owned and ridden Rossini (68.04), a nine-year-old Hanoverian gelding by Rossolini.

The same two combinations contested the two Medium classes. The Stewart-judged DI M77 was won by the Isobelle Linnane-owned and ridden ISH mare B Posy (64.29%), a Ramiro B 12-year-old. Their rivals, Tabitha Millar Hagerty and the former international eventer, Westeria Lane (65.59), an 18-year-old ISH gelding by Rantis Diamond, were preferred by Payne in the BD 73.

The visiting judge assessed the first of the Advanced Medium classes (FEI Junior team test) where he awarded his highest score to Junior international Cillian Curran and his mother Carmel’s Hanoverian mare Dancing Espri (65.30%), an 11-year-old grey by Denario.

Topping Stewart’s scores in the FEI Junior Preliminary test were Elaine Murphy and her nine-year-old ISH mare by Quaterback, QT An Tanaiste (64).

Stewart awarded Lillie-B Meredith and Dooneens Mystical Star a winning score of 78.24% in the DI Introductory Test B with Niamh Winter and Minnie recording an uncontested win in the DI Preliminary P5A on 64.64.