ALL pure show jumping competitions at last weekend’s Barrier Spring Festival at Castle Irvine, Necarne, were staged on Saturday, when the Mid Antrim Branch ran out comfortable winners of the team competition.

The action took place in the Walled Garden, where the Festival’s chief show jumping steward, Alan Lynch, was assisted in designing and building the courses by Lithgow Currie. The latter’s wife, Janet, was in Belgium at the weekend, judging at the CSI2* jumping show in Lier, but we’re sure Lithgow had the more exciting time!

Nearly 50 teams competed, with the North Down Branch being represented by eight squads, while the Iveagh Branch fielded seven. It was good to see six teams line out for North Derry, with just one less doing so for East Down.

Named as the No 4 squad for Mid Antrim, the quartet of Katie Surgenor, Christopher Smyth, Jessica Mark and Holly Logan recorded a comprehensive victory, when completing on a converted score of 15 points. Three of the four finished inside the top 10 in their individual competitions.

Although they finished 16 points adrift, it was a great result for Killultagh 2 to claim the runner-up spot, as there were only three members on this team – Georgia Shannon and Martha McMurray, who both placed second individually, and Poppy McMurray. The Seskinore 3 team of Callie Cooke, Stewart Beattie, Orlaith McCarron and Elle-Mae McCrory finished third on 33 points.

The Iveagh Branch won two of the six individual competitions, starting in the opening 51-strong PC70, where Rosie Strain recorded a very narrow victory over Killultagh’s Georgia Shannon. Riding her grey pony Angel, Strain stopped the clock in the jump-off round on 28.75 seconds while, on board Daisy, Shannon broke the beam on 28.76.

There was a close result too in the following PC80, where there were 64 starters. Fastest of those who went clear in the jump-off round was Harley McKeag of North Down, who was home in 28.61 on the seven-year-old bay mare, Lady Maureen. A member of the second-placed Killultagh team, Martha McMurray filled the same position individually on the 17-year-old liver chesnut mare Woodrow Rosewood (28.68).

The Iveagh double came up at PC90 level, where Pippa Moore claimed the honours when going clear in 26.19 in the jump-off round with Seapatrick Make A Move, the 18-year-old bay mare with whom she also actively competes under Showjumping Ireland rules. Moore had a bit of breathing space from North Derry’s Katie Boggs riding La Paca (26.60), while close up in third here was Mid Antrim’s Holly Logan on Owens Shadow (26.61).

Winning Show jumping team Mid Antrim 4 member Jessica Mark on Greenan Milo at the Barrier Animal Health Pony Club Area 17 Barrier Animal Health at Necarne \ Jonathan Sterritt, JRS Photography

After two individual seconds earlier in the day, the Killultagh Branch got their win in the PC100, where Jessica Rogers saw off 10 rivals when home in 33.73 on the Connemara gelding Knockbridge Magic Moment, an eight-year-old bay by Carnabay Mirah. Also recording double clears to finish second and third were the Route’s Victoria Grieves on Twister D’Euro (36.74) and East Antrim’s Katelyn Irvine riding Kensington Absolute (37.40).

Kym Moore and Drumcashel Little Legend, a 148cm Grade A pony, had an excellent weekend, which they rounded off on Sunday as members of the joint-winning Tullylagan arena eventing team. On Saturday, they recorded an individual success when posting the only double clear in the four-runner PC110 show jumping competition.

No doubt many of those who started in this show jumping section of the Festival will be competing at this weekend’s Easter pony championships in Cavan.