IT was a busy few days for everyone at last week’s very successful Millstreet International Horse Trials but for Erin Mathieson, who rides her mother Hilary’s Connemara gelding Longwood Dawn, it was hectic!

Sixteen-year-old Erin, a member of the pony high performance squad and a pupil at the Royal School Dungannon, is sitting a huge number of GCSE exams this year and some of these clashed with her appearances in the Carr & Day & Martin CCI1*-Intro at the Co Cork venue. The following was basically her timetable for the week.

Following an English exam on the Wednesday morning, Erin was picked up at the school gates by her mother Hilary driving the lorry with ‘Colin’ on board and they headed down to Millstreet.

Hilary’s partner, the well-known commentator Raymond Bready, collected Erin on Thursday afternoon to bring her home so she could sit her GCSE maths on Friday morning.

They hit the road again early that afternoon back down to Millstreet, arriving at 5pm. Two and a half hours later, Erin, who had been granted a delayed dressage time of 7.30pm, rode her test, achieving a score of 31.5 penalties.

She and Colin then show jumped clear on Saturday morning and were clear within the time across the country late on Sunday afternoon for a sixth-place finish, highest among those from the youth sections.