Our West region qualifiers for the AIRC national championships have now been confirmed. First out of the blocks will be the Team SJ championship qualifier, generally known as the RDS qualifier as the team championship takes place at the RDS on the Sunday of the Dublin horse show week. Our qualifier will take place on Sunday 10th of May in Glenamaddy Equestrian Centre, which is (funnily enough) in Glenamaddy, Co. Galway. It’s a superb venue and gives us the excuse, if we felt we needed one, for a little overnight trip with our four legged friends.
The next qualifiers will be the first of the West region’s Dressage championship qualifiers and the 70/80cm Team SJ qualifier. Both of these are being held on Sunday 24th of May in the glorious Necarne Castle. Whilst the venue is definitely within easy commuting distance (by Donegal standards) the option of renting an onsite stable for the Saturday night and making a social weekend out of it may well prove too hard to resist. Mahons Hotel in Irvinestown manages the rooms onsite and the prospect of heading over on Saturday, availing of the beautiful estate for hacking on, and partaking of a couple of relaxing beverages with good company, will surely prove popular.
The final West region qualifier is the second Dressage championship qualifier on Sunday 5th of July in Duffy’s Equestrian Centre, Claregalway. Teams hoping to qualify for the national championship may only compete at one qualifier, but individuals may compete in as many regional qualifiers as they wish, meaning that there may well be a few dressage divas keen to give it a second shot in Galway, especially as they will have had the chance of getting valuable “big-stage” experience at the Festival in June.
REMEMBER that to take part in any national competition or regional qualifier your mount must be registered with the AIRC. It is currently free to register, but there is a charge of E25.00 from April 1st to June 30th as head office get swamped at that time of year. Find all the information you need for registering your horse at the following link:
Letterkenny Riding Club 