Sunday’s Northwest League Final proved a banner day for the club and an even better one for the fairer sex. Between Liz, Anne, Claire, Molly and Judy we notched up an ultra-impressive haul of league titles on this most competitive of days.
We would have added a fourth in the Welcome Stakes had Louise not been jinxed by a morning well-wish from Libby — that was all it took to bring two poles crashing to the ground much to Louise’s disgust. After an otherwise faultless performance over the course of the league the blue ribbon these toppled poles spawned came up just a little short of the mark. Next time it will be the Primary class proper for Louise and Tutu, meaning the club will once again have some representation in the 70cm division.
Our representation in the different grades runs in cycles and our current strong suit is Advanced Intermediate. This class has been transformed from a predictable 4 or 5 entry affair to a cracking competition with entries consistently into double figures. Full marks to Claire Cuffe for her victory in yesterday’s class, deserved compensation for the unlucky timefault that kept her out of the previous leg’s jump-off. Her victory brought league honours with it crowning a wonderful day for the Cuffe family. Earlier in the program, Liz had clenched her league title (and overall NWL win) with a great second in the Advanced Primary class. How valuable a family mare is Judy?!!
Anne’s consistency paid dividends yet again as, not for the first time, she and Molly took the Intermediate title. Partner Keary on Arthur gave the spectators one of the biggest thrills of the day with his acrobatic clear round in the same class. Sadly he lost his way in the jump-off — no hounds to follow at Templemore…
Anne received her rosette and prize from Tanya on a day when memories of Audrey were to the forefront of many people’s minds. The fondness with which that memory is cherished was reflected by the generosity of contributions to the collection for Aware. Together with the E300 contributed from league funds, we were able to present a cheque to Tanya and Cecil for E750 on behalf of the participating clubs. We’re very, very grateful to Tanya and Cecil for coming on the day, joining us for an occasion which we all know must have been desperately difficult to face. Thank you.
Concluding the day, the very generous time allowed for the Topscore competition took a bit of the edge of this normally exciting contest but it nevertheless provided an enjoyable end to another highly successful league.
Thanks to everybody who contributed to making the league happen, particularly from our club’s point of view to Cormac. Congratulations to all competitors and particularly to the winners. You’ve really done us proud!
Letterkenny Riding Club 