THE snow and ice may have reduced the numbers of competitors on Saturday, but it certainly did not stop play for week two of the Bailey’s Horse Feeds Flexi Eventing at The Meadows Equestrian Centre, Lurgan. Sadly, a number of enthusiastic entrants had to make the decision to withdraw, as frozen conditions in yards and laneways made the journey impossible and safety must always be first and foremost. However, for those not affected by the glacial conditions, it was another great training opportunity, in a setting which replicates a proper competition environment, with flowers in the arenas, banners surrounding the arenas, music transmitted across all disciplines, etc.
In an effort to evenly balance the judging duties, the large Intro class was divided in three. Topping the ‘A’ section, judged by Martina McKinley, was Gail McIlwaine and ‘Miss Ballyrolly’, whom Gail credits with getting her through tough times when she lost her soul mate mare last November. They went through a little hiatus last year when ‘Miss Ballyrolly’, or ‘Lexi’ as she is known at home, did not seem right. With the help of a huge team, including Lee Johnston, Farrier; Janice Campbell, Physio; Mark Robinson, Instructor; Rebecca Knox of Blossomhill and Steph Bradley from Freedom Saddlery, ‘Lexi’ is now back in super form and moved up from sixth place the prevous week to take the win this time round with a score of 70%. Second place went to last week’s winner, Nicola Martin on her lovely five-year-old Draught mare, ‘Misty’.
The ‘B’ section saw Lucinda Webb-Graham award her top mark of 72.3% to David O’Connor riding ‘Tullymurry Grace’, a five-year-old ‘Chillout’ mare bred by Marian Turley out of her home-bred dam, ‘Tullymurry Holly’, with whom her daughter, Elaine, enjoyed many successes. ‘Tullymurry Grace’ had three successful outings last year under Eventing rules with David in the saddle, including a win at Loughanmore in August. The Tullymurry Matriach, Marian Turley, advised last year that she was excited by her ‘fleet’ of young home-bred stock and that prediction certainly seems to be ringing true.
Stephanie Scroggie took second place with ‘Hello Ginger’, an 18-year-old chestnut mare by ‘Hello Oscar’ and owned by Julie Wallace. Amazingly, this was Stephanie’s first dressage test in three years and the horse’s first time between the white boards, as she normally hunts and show jumps, but it would appear that the combination have missed their vocation!
Vanda Stewart reserved her top mark in the ‘C’ section for Ballyclare rider, Holly Wray, with her four-year-old ‘Master Imp’ gelding, ‘Henry’, whom she purchased last year, freshly broken, and has been producing him slowly ever since. She suffered an unfortunate accident last year, resulting in a broken knee, which was an unwelcome setback for this hard working equestrian rider, who is now focussed on completing some events with this exciting prospect, who was also making his dressage debut on Saturday. The runner up spot went to 13-year-old Dromore High School student, Zara Reid, riding the very accomplished ‘Lola’. Zara, who lives on the family farm at Drumbo, has been riding since she was seven years old and is a member of North Down Branch of the Pony Club, where she enjoys mounted games, show jumping and eventing, with plans to compete with Eventing Ireland this year.
Once again, the Pre Novice class was divided due to large entries, which, unfortunately diminished due to last minute withdrawals. However, the standard remained high, with Katie McKee moving up one place from last week to take the win on ‘Murray’, who is certainly proving his prowess with a score of 73% awarded by Martina McKinley. Caitlin Brown slotted in, just under two points behind, on ‘Monkey Business’, her mother’s 14-year-old ‘Masurenfuerst’ gelding, with whom she has been eventing since 2018, recording a win in the EI 90 Amateur class at LightsourceBP Tyrella 4 last year.
The ‘B’ section was headed by Bethany Smith, who came to the dressage triple-handed, but took victory on ‘King’, with a great score of 75.3 awarded by Lucinda Webb-Graham. ‘King’ is an 18-year-old gelding by ‘HHS BR Charlton’, who has developed a fabulously successful CV with riders Sarah Clarke and Rebecca Rafferty of Iveagh Pony Club. ‘King’ qualified for the Dublin Horse Show Pony Club Combined Training class and was called up for the Pony Club SJ Championships in England. Clearly, although majoring on show jumping, ‘King’ is now enjoying expressing his dressage moves at the Flexi Eventing Series with Bethany. Anita Doherty slotted into second place on Naomi Buchanan’s striking seven-year-old ‘Major Gold’ mare, ‘Goldiva’, whom she has been partnering for the past year.
In the end, there were just seven starters in the Novice class, where Vanda Stewart was most impressed with Tom Rowlatt-McCormick and ‘R Ballerina’, an eight-year-old mare by the very prolific stallion, ‘Centrestage’. This mare, previously campaigned by Jonathan and Clare Steele, has been under saddle with both Ben and Tom Rowlatt-McCormick for most of last year. Last week’s winner, Denis Currie and ‘Arodstown Aramis’ took runner up spot, just half a point adrift.
Suzanne Hagan was a very clear winner in the four starter Intermediate class, where Vanda Stewart awarded her 75.5% on her own 11-year-old gelding, ‘OBOS Take One’, with whom she has had a partnership since 2017, finishing with a second placing in the EI 110 Open class at Punchestown last October.
Show jumping and Cross-Country judges were kept busy, with a strong emphasis this week on the lower classes.
Sincere thanks to the large team of helpers across all three disciplines, who worked hard to ensure that the day ran seamlessly and, of course, most sincere thanks to Judy Maxwell of Baileys Horse Feeds for the very generous sponsorship. Organisers are also grateful to Treo Eile, who are presenting a cash prize of €150 for the highest placed Thoroughbred in the League.
Christine McBride of Equine Performance Solutions Ireland (formerly North Coast Equestrian) have provided Equipe bridles with matching reins and Mattes saddlecloths for the combination, which best supports the League, as well as one for the combination gaining most dressage points throughout the League. EPS Ireland provide a number of valuable services, all aimed at improving the overall performance of your equine partner, namely Equipe saddle fitting, HSI level 2 coaching and specialist Sprenger bit fitting. These services are available all over the country and for every level of horse and rider. More details can be found on the Facebook page or by contacting Christine directly.
The Flexi Eventing continues every Saturday until February 25, with points being awarded for performance and attendance up until the previous week (February 18), with another special prize for the highest placed Riding Club/ Pony Club member. The prize giving will take place at The Meadows on February 25 at the completion of competition.
This is open to absolutely everyone and, as the name suggests, riders can choose to do any or all of the three disciplines. Dressage enquiries to Dora on 07876 758979 or dorabeacom@live.co.uk.
Enquiries re: Show jumping and Cross-country should be directed to the Meadows on 028 3832 2417.
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