Dressage Ireland

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HSI Silver Spurs Qualifiers - 30th March to 2nd April 2010

05/04/2010

Clonshire March 30

The HSI Silver Spurs Qualifiers kicked of in Clonshire, Adare, Limerick on a very wet and windy Tuesday. Despite the torrential rain and gales, entries were still very high with very few withdrawals.

The day started with the Young Rider qualifier and while although it had only one entry, Maebh Hennessy and Snoop Dogg (finalists in last year's Young Riders Class) produced quality work to score an overall mark of 21.2. This respectable mark has ensured that they are currently sitting well placed in fourth on the leader board.

The Under 12s section has seen growth from last year, and was supported throughout the country, not least by the entrants in Clonshire. Sarah Connell, mounted on her sister Kirsty's 'Harvest Moon'. Sarah has recently taken over the ride of 'Harvey' aftrer he and Kirsty won the 2009 Pony section of the HSI Silver Spurs. Despite the weather, the new partnership produced an excellent overall mark of 22.7 to see them joint first on the leader board with Katie Burns and 'Harry Hoot' from the Northern qualifier. Alana Cazabon-O'Sullivan (Joyton Regal Princess) and Shannon Sheridan (Zulu Warrior) also displayed their impressive acumen to land them in third and fifth place respectively.

The Ponies section this year kicked of with exceptionally hot competition- several of the riders well known on the eventing circuit and some recently named on the Irish Team. Stephanie O'Callaghan and 'Whose Smudge It' are one such partnership. Finalists from 2009 and with another year of training and competition under their belt, it's not surprising to see them heading the Ponies leader board on a substantial 23.1. Close on their heels, Joss Murray on Breaffy Boy and Georgina Lee on 'Bourneville Twix' scored 22.1 each to place them in joint fourth position at the end of this round of qualifiers.

Finally, Juniors saw Caroline Marwood and 'Jazzin' Along' ride their way into second place(22.6). This combination have been developing since last years qualifier and are set to provide stiff competition for the semis. Another eventing stalwart, Natasha Sterling showed amazing consistency on her two mounts 'OTT' and 'Mr. Brown', by scoring a creditable 21.2 on both, leaving her joint sixth on the leader board and in an enviable position for the semis.

The day was full of tension and excitement for all, and Master Judge Nikki Herbert was pleased at the cross-section of disciplines that turned out to the qualifier. Thanks must be mentioned not only to the staff at Clonshire who catered for everyone and did their utmost to ensure that the day went off well, but to the teams of helpers from North Munster Dressage and South Munster Dressage and our test Judges Ann Glynn, Oonagh O'Donnell and Pat Barry without whose help and enthusiasm, we would have been wet, miserable and very stressed.

Laurelview April 1

In spite of arctic conditions the previous day, which saw the Mullingar qualifier postponed until this summer, the Northern qualifier started with brilliant sunshine and bitter temperatures. In view of the conditions, the decision was made to move indoors and run one arena sequentially instead of two. Thanks to the trojan work and undying enthusiasm of the Wylie family, there were almost no withdrawals despite competitors having to travel hours in wintry conditions and having times re-jigged the night before. The effort was well worth it as the North showed their depth of talent with their riders taking first place on the leader board in three categories.

The Under 12 section saw Katie Burns and 'Harry Hoot'(22.7) produce some very polished riding to come joint first on the leader board with Clonshire competitor Sarah Connell. Fergal McKinney gave his green pony 'Minstrel' a very nice ride to slot into sixth place on 21points. Despite having not trained for long with Alison Mastin-Moore, Fergal showed great elegance and ring craft and will be one to watch in years to come. Sophie Winn demonstrated her all-round riding ability despite her young age, by borrowing 'Laurelview Paddy' at the last minute and still ending up in tenth place with a creditable score of 18.6.

Ponies saw Lucy Lamont and 'Yogi Bear' slide into third (22.4) with a superior performance, while Stephanie Gregg (Stonebrook Tosca) lies in seventeenth (19.5) and Abigayle Gill (Pippa) sits in twenty-second nationally(18.3).

Rosie Alcorn (The Ace of Diamonds) took the Junior section by storm scoring the highest mark in all the sections so far (23.3). Hot on her heels is Natasha Wylie on Mathilda (22.2)who she borrowed for the day, this combination lie in fourth on the leader board. Natasha is planning to compete in later qualifiers with her own horse when he's back in work, so nothing is guaranteed as yet. Megan McGrath gave the young and talented 'Dhumvarna' a good ride to score 21.2 and land in eighth place nationally.

The Young Rider section here was very strong and competition was fierce for the top placings. Victoria Henderson (Silken Belle) lead the way in first place on 22.5, but only 0.4 points separate them from second place Lyndsey Prytchard (Kemella Clover King) on 22.1. Laura Jane Kyle and 'Ultimo H' follow behind in eighth on 19.9.

All credit to the success of this qualifier goes to the Wylie family, Alison Mastin-Moore and Laurelview Equestrian Centre who worked diligently through the night to ensure it went ahead despite the weather. Many thanks also to our judges Angeline Nicholson and Naomi Donoghue and of course Nikki Herbert who were frozen into position by the end of the day. Hopefully next year's qualifier will see some actual spring weather!

Spruce Lodge April 2

The final qualifier of this series saw changeable weather greet our competitors. The Under 12s ran in strong wind and heavy rain. Despite warming up in the indoor, everyone was soaked to the skin as soon as they left its shelter- including many ponies who were definitely not impressed.

Despite this, Beth Dunne and her show pony 'Ballyboy Danube'managed a strong score of 21.1 to see them into fourth place on the leader board. The large class also saw Emily Robinson (Bayview Sapphire) make their way into eighth place(19.1) and Lucy Hancock (Woodfield Surprise) may a creditable debut in twelfth position on 18.3.

The Pony Section saw the return of April Allen who rocketed into second place on the leader board with her mount 'Tzira Hill' on 22.6. Emma Murray, who placed third in last year's Under 12s section, came second on a score of 21.6, which puts her into eighth position overall. April's and Emma's experience and mileage gave them an enviable lead in this class ahead of Ian Cassels and 'Loughtown Lou' on 19.8 (fifteenth place) and Eliza Hancock on 'Comical Con' who scored 19.7 (sixteenth place).

Juniors saw the return of last year's finalist Siobhan Schous and 'Derryvinane Herbie', both in great form after training with the Sherelle Duke Bursaries Scheme. They scored a well-earned 22.3 to see them into third place on the leader board for this section. Also making their return in 2010 were Pippa Tuthill and 'The Flashy Bird', who have obviously made the most of their time and scored a solid 22 to put them firmly in fifth. Jennifer Diamond and 'Early Spring' made their HSI Silver Spurs debut a memorable occasion by hitting a high note of 21.1 (ninth place), despite almost missing their second test. Juniors has traditionally been an exceptionally strong class, and this year proves no different. With two more qualifiers to go in the summer, there is still a lot to play for.

The Young Riders at Spruce Lodge made strong contention for the top ten placings. Megan Patterson and 'Fear Liath'(22.4) came out fighting, narrowly missing taking the lead by 0.1points. Laura Hastings and 'Remax Royal' have taken fifth on 20.6, while close behind is Megan Patterson and her second ride 'Bolgerstown Gizmo' in sixth place on 20.1.

Master Judge Nikki Herbert was delighted by the talent she saw throughout the week and is keen to get back on the road for our summer qualifiers. She was particularly delighted to see the range of disciplines represented in the qualifiers and never failed to spot a Pony Club badge at a thousand paces!

Many thanks go to Joan Keogh and her family whose dedication to the HSI Silver Spurs programme is second to none. Also a big thank you to Team Marlton for their hard work scoring, stewarding, scribing and everything else, they made the day a dawdle. Thank you to our judges Mairin Cassidy and Gerd Liekens-Schurmans.

Finally, thank you to all our competitors for making HSI Silver Spurs such a fantastic and worthwhile competition.