On Saturday night, at the North West Riding Club’s annual dinner dance and awards, a new award will be presented. This is the North West Riding Clubs Person of the Year. It is a recognition of the time, effort and commitment that some people make, or have made, to the clubs in the district. These people are frequently not members and often don’t ride at all, but will be seen at many events over the course of the year, tirelessly slogging away in the background. We want them to know that they are seen, they are valued, and they are truly appreciated. If you haven’t yet got your tickets I’m afraid you have missed the boat, but you can still get raffle tickets via https://itsplainsailing.com/org/nwrc .

The 2025 nominees for NWRC Person of the Year are as follows:

Claire O’Rourke

Claire travels to all the regional and national events to support the local club members. She is always on hand with a positive word and is the first to step into the ever-present role of club volunteer. Her friendly, cheery attitude is exactly what makes her a most valuable club supporter.

Erin Fergus

Erin needs no introduction to anyone who is involved in riding club, not just in the NW but throughout the huge AIRC West region. She dedicates her days to supporting clubs and club members at any events they are attending, then gives up her evenings to serve as a very dedicated representative on national committees. Her determination to see all members, clubs and regions treated fairly is well known, but most of all Erin is encouraging and “just a lovely person”.

Mary Finneran

Mary was always a huge supporter of grassroots ownership and throughout her years of coaching, at every level, she actively encouraged and promoted responsible ownership and equestrianism. From her riding school in Glenleary she started many people on the ownership ladder and set about getting riding club up and running. From a first gathering in the lobby of the Mount Errigal hotel she continued to offer support through coaching, providing a venue and most of all through her sound advice on how to be a club that would stand the test of time.

Jenny Coe

Jenny is a classic example of someone who tirelessly gives to local riding club. She gives her time to volunteer for the thankless task of safety officer, she gives kind words and a listening ear when they are most needed, and she gives a never ending supply of delicious baking to sustain the body as well as the soul of those lucky enough to meet her. From her time as a founding member of the Letterkenny club she has continued to enjoy the social aspect of a shared love of horses, and a connection with the equestrian community. Jenny is a textbook example of what makes riding club in the North West such a great thing to be involved in.

Anne Chambers

Anne will be the first person to welcome a new face to any event. Like so many people she has a hectic, and at times challenging, life outside of riding club, but always shows up with a cheerful smile and ready laughs. She is the first to offer a mount to anyone in need and is brave enough to take the ride on a strange horse if it means helping out a team. Her naturally caring character shines through, and her calm and steady attitude at times of stress are exactly what are needed. She is a ray of sunshine at any show she attends.

With all four preliminary legs of the NWAL behind us we are looking forward now to the league final next Sunday. League rules state that you must take part in two preliminary legs of the league, PLUS the final, in order to be eligible for the league prizes. With the results in from the Donegal Gaeltacht run leg at Necarne yesterday, we have four members in the running for prizes in the dressage league.

Rachel is in the somewhat enviable position of having the Open Intro class to herself this year, so unless the gods conspire to keep her from competing next week she will have the prize in the bag. The RCP2 class is a whole lot more competitive, but Erica goes into the final on 7 points and could take the win if the chips fell her way on the day. Jennie is in a stronger position in this class, with 12 points to her credit, and everyone in the club will be willing both ladies on to great things. Francis is our remaining hopeful, as he heads into the final of the RCN class with 14 points on the scoreboard. This means he is currently tying with Claire Kirkwood and is just one point ahead of the remaining class contender, Emily Schneider. The riders eligible for league prizes are listed below, with the points they have on the board to date. The very best of luck to everyone on Sunday, and remember you don’t have to be eligible for prizes to come and take part and have an enjoyable day.

RCP1 Intro: Vivian Narcisco 14

Open Intro: Rachel Carton 14

RCP1: Seanna Sheridan 14

Lorraine Gibson 13

Emma Curran Alcorn 12

RCP2: Liz Potter (Clyde) 13

Jennie Peoples 12

Liz Potter (Rockstar Cristo) 12

Lorraine Gibson 11

Eilish Calgie 10

Mary Walker 7

Erica Robb 7

RCP3: Amy McGarvey 14

Maeve Lunny 13

Mary Walker 10

RCN: Francis McNicholl 14

Claire Kirkwood 14

Emily Schneider 12

RCM: Anne McFarland 14

With days shortening, and the number of shopping days left till Christmas decreasing at a rapid rate, its great to be able to look forward to 2026 and start planning next year’s exploits. AIRC HQ have done stellar work to confirm both dates and venues for all but one national championship in the coming year, meaning we can now book our annual leave accordingly (always good to have the Monday after a national event off) and have something to look forward to as the rain hits us sideways for the next few months.

Sunday 12th October saw nine club members band together for a sociable saunter through the lovely land belonging to Katie Devine’s family. Katie had offered to host the ride-out a few weeks before, only to be left on shanks mare for the event due to her own mare being on sick leave for a while. Erica, Anne, Keary, Libby, Maria, Hilary, Rachel and Ewelina were treated to a a perfect 90 minute trek over farm tracks and back-road boreens, with Katie walking and driving in front to navigate when she wasn’t stewarding the two road crossings to ensure everyone’s safety.

The outing was a fantastic experience and education for the collection of novice, young horses, ex-racehorses and recently-returned-to-work oldtimers (sorry Bob, that’s you!). Riders swapped tales of different equine experiences, with Hilary having reason to compliment Katie on her ability to handle a lot of dick, amongst other things!! There is even the slim chance that Maria and Ewelina might be talked into doing an intro dressage test before the NWAL comes to an end.

Top marks to Katie for a most enjoyable outing.

The AIRC has now reduced their membership fee for the remainder of the year. This means that you can join us in Letterkenny RC for just E40, giving you a fantastic opportunity to enjoy a busy autumn schedule with your four legged partner. Joining now for the remainder of the year also means that you will be able to avail of our Membership Renewal fee for 2026, as opposed to the New Membership fee. Letterkenny RC likes to reward loyalty!!

Check out the current calendar of events on our “What we do” page to see what’s coming up from now till the end of the year. The calendar gets added to as club training sessions are planned, so keep checking in (obviously if you’re a member we keep you in the loop regarding any sessions!). If you’d like to join just go to the membership tab of our itsplainsailing page, which you’ll find at the following link:

https://www.itsplainsailing.com/org/letter

Scroll to the bottom of the page and you’ll see the “Reduced Fee for remainder of 2025” option. Just fill in the form, pay the fee and sit back and relax……we’ll contact you for any further information we need.

Once we have forwarded your application to HQ for processing, you will need to submit a passport photo, using the online form at the following link:

https://airc.ie/idphotoupload/

The photo must meet standard passport photo guidelines….good light, plain background, neutral facial expression etc, etc, etc. If you’re unsure about what’s required you can read through the guidelines below:

1. A digital COLOUR image (taken at home by someone not yourself!)

• Only jpeg format images in colour will be accepted

Please Note:

1. You cannot take a ‘selfie’ or use a webcam
2. You can take a photo with a digital camera or smartphone, but the zooming function on the smartphone should not be used. 
3. No filters are permitted or digital enhancements.
4. The photo must capture your image from head to mid-torso (your photo will be cropped to the correct size for a passport photo during the application process)
5. A COLOUR passport quality photo

Please adhere to the following guidelines regarding pose and visuals for acceptable photos/images:

• You need to stand in front of a completely plain, light grey, white or cream background
• No objects such as door panels or plants should be visible in your passport photo

• Your photo must be in focus, lighting and colour should be balanced, not too dark or too light. See below!

• There must not be any shadows on your face or behind your head
• Ensure your facial features are clearly visible, hair should not cover any part of the eyes

• Glasses can be worn in your photo, provided the frame is not covering any part of your eyes and there is
  no glare on the lenses.
• Make sure your expression is neutral, you are not smiling, and your mouth is closed
• Do not tilt your head up/down or left/right. Look straight into the camera
• Please ensure there is visible space between your head and shoulders and the edge of your photo.

Our club was lucky enough to have some really fantastic members in its early days, and unlucky enough to lose two of them after too short a time. We like to remember Audrey and Orla each year by getting together for some very sociable inter-club rivalry, which has previously been spread over two separate shows but will be combined into one riding club extravaganza in 2025. I suppose it’s a good sign of the local riding club scene that weekends are so full up we have to combine our efforts into one day rather than two! This year our Audrey Jacob and Orla O’Reilly Memorial Show will take place on September 7th in Eglinton Equestrian Centre (no worries about weather, and a stable available for your horses). The day will comprise of both dressage and showjumping, with the opportunity to compete as both an individual and/or on a team for your respective clubs (ask not what your club can do for you…..).

The Orla O’Reilly Shield, sponsored by both Orla’s family and her fiance Jimmy McKinney, will be presented to the judges choice of best new-comer rider from among the dressage competitors on the day. Orla will always be remembered for being on hand to help and support any rider, but in particular the new and the novice. She was a great believer in taking part for the love of the sport rather than the glory of a podium finish and her encouraging smile, positive words and gentle pushes were always an inspiration to everyone involved.

Audrey Jacob was also a firm believer in taking part for the love of the horse, with a spirit of club-orientated sportsmanship of particular importance to her. Her desire to see riders work together for everyone’s mutual benefit is epitomised by our team competitions, where riders of all levels strive to bring glory back to the club they belong to. The equestrian community in Donegal is not huge. We all know each other, support each other and while we may do our utmost to beat each other in the competitive arena, it is always done with good nature and a spirit of healthily friendly rivalry that Audrey loved. By all means compete as an individual, but remember the club that’s behind you and compete for it as well.

On Sunday 7th of September there will be dressage and showjumping on offer. Riders may enter at their own grade or at the grade above, as per AIRC rules. There will not be Open, Intro or Training classes at this show……tis time to to put your brave-pants on and do yourselves proud without the training wheels! Each competitor should enter themselves as an individual in their chosen classes. This (obviously) entitles them to a shot at the prizes for their classes. If your club wishes to enter a team for either dressage or showjumping, your club secretary sends in the team entry (all members will already have entered as individuals) and the teams compete for the fantastic Audrey Jacob Team Challenge trophies in both jumping and dressage.

For both dressage and showjumping a team may consist of three or four riders, with the top three scores counting for the team score. The team captains must be identified at the time of entry. Team captains on showjumping teams must be graded RC90 or above. A rider/horse combination may only compete for one dressage and one jumping team. A rider may compete for another team on a different horse and a horse may compete for a second team under a different rider. Please note…riders may take part on as many teams as they can find mounts for, but horses may not compete for more than two teams in each discipline.

In dressage the four team members may be of any grade. In the event that riders choose to compete at more than one grade (for example, an RCP2 graded rider choosing to do both the P2 and the P3 class) it will be their score from the class at which they are graded that will count towards their team score. In the case of equality of points between teams, the team captains’ scores will be the deciders.

The showjumping is being run as a slightly modified nations cup style competition. Each competitor will jump two rounds, regardless of how disastrous their first round was. Those lucky enough to be in a tie-breaker after two rounds will then go forward to a third round against the clock (70 and 80 riders aiming for optimum time, with riders graded 90 or above aiming for fastest time). In the interests of keeping the day running quickly and avoiding undue stress on not-particularly-fit horses, riders graded 70 or 80 will jump their first two rounds over 70cm, while those graded 90 or above will jump their first two rounds over 90cm. In the event that a rider gets through to a third round jump-off they will ride their jump-off course over their graded height. In the event of more than one team member getting through to the third round, it is only the team captain’s score that will count for the team. If teams are on equal scores after two rounds the team captains will jump off against the clock, even if they had not qualified for the jump-off as an individual.

Example: Anne (RC100) enters as an individual and is named on a team, but not as captain. She jumps twice at 90cm, going double clear, and then jumps against the clock at 1.0m and wins that. She picks up her prize for winning the RC100, but unfortunately her team captain (who shall remain nameless but is also graded RC100) fluffs the jump off so the team crashes and burns. Anne thanks her lucky stars that this year there are individual classes as well as the team competition and vows to rearrange the team captain’s features next time she catches her/him in a dark alley.

Entries will open soon on https://itsplainsailing.com/org/letter. The fact that there is a perpetual cup for the 70, 80 and 90cm classes but anyone jumping at or above the 1.0m have to fight it out for the last cup, is an indication of how much the riding club scene in Donegal has progressed. When the Letterkenny Derby cups were commissioned riders at the higher heights were few and far between!

2025 has arrived, with weather which can only improve (gotta be positive) and no doubt everyone has done the usual mental review of the past year. On the national stage we have seen big changes in the Association of Irish Riding Clubs, with long serving staff and committee members stepping down and new hands taking up the guiding reins of the massive organisation. Positive developments from HQ include the early announcement of national championship and festival dates, allowing the regions to start setting their local calendars in stone. Unfortunately all the national events are taking place well down the island again, but at the end of the day us Donegal members don’t really mind where we whip ass…!

In the West region, of which we are a part, the first regional meeting takes place on January 29th in Tuam, Co. Galway, and will see regional qualifiers discussed. Once the dates of the regional qualifiers have been decided, the individual clubs within the region can get stuck into scheduling their own year. The Donegal District, which is made up of the five clubs in Co. Donegal, will be nailing down dates and venues for the North West Spring League in the near future and in the meantime there are a number of non-AIRC events happening in the area.

Anyone who needs an official height measurment for their horse or pony might like to know that the closest measuring takes place this coming Saturday in Eglinton Equestrian Centre. Height matters for some showing classes, as well as registered pony show-jumping.

For anyone looking to get a head start on the show-jumping season there is a league starting in the Ecclesville Centre in Fintona. The heights are kept low and it’s an ideal opportunity to get started again.

If dressage is more your scene (which may be the case if you have your sights set on eventing later in the spring) you can kick off your outings with a little run to Coleraine on January 12th. The Causeway & Glens RC is running their Disco Dressage day and it’s open to all. I cant say I know why it’s called Disco dressage but I’m sure it’ll be a good day.

As any athlete can tell you, diet is crucially important for success. If you’d like some advice and information on getting your equine athlete’s diet tweaked for improved performance you could do a lot worse than attend the information evening being held at Drumanoo Equestrian, Killybegs. With expertise supplied by Niamh McElhenny of Connolly’s Redmills you can be sure of coming away with the most up to date advice available.

Our club has always been absolutely blessed with a membership who can pull together in the club harness, with the result that our AGMs have traditionally been an excuse for a good night out, rather than an event to be dreaded or avoided. As with any club, there are those who join and for one reason or another are unable to take part in club life as much as they originally intended, but a solid core of members, both mounted and unmounted made the year a good one and the ensuing AGM was highly enjoyable. The only significant change in the steering committee was that Suzanne stood down as both show secretary and club prize buyer after a number of years in both roles. Suzanne’s dedication to the job of show secretary, and determination to do a professional job, has left her successor, Jennie Peoples, with big shoes to fill. Fortunately Jennie has very strong organisational skills, coupled with solid I.T skills, and will no doubt master the task in jig-time (with a guiding hand from Suzanne when needed). Suzanne can now enjoy her two geldings and get stuck into winning some of the prizes that Anna Cathcart will be supplying as part of her new job as club prize buyer.

The all-important annual Club Horse of the Year and Club Member of the Year awards were tightly fought in the ballot box, but in the end a very worthy Suzanne accepted the Club Member award, while the Club Horse was deemed to be Merlin. This same pairing won the awards before and it begs the question “what could they achieve if they combined forces?!”

The attendees at the AGM wrapped up the official business in time to take their pre-booked table for a fantastic meal and a long and sociable evening.

The next AGM on the calender is the North West RC AGM, at 8pm in the GAA hall in Ballybofey, on Monday 11th November. All current members of any of the five Donegal riding clubs are not only welcome to attend but are actively encouraged to.

The West Region of the AIRC will be holding their AGM via Zoom (or possibly Google Meets) at 8.30pm on Friday 15th of November. Club secretary’s will receive the link for the meeting closer to the time, so be sure to get it sent to you so you can join the fun.

They say a bird doesn’t fly on one wing and it’s safe to say that a league wont run on one leg, so this coming Sunday brings the second of the four legs of the North West Autumn League (NWAL). The league got off to a great start at Greenacres on October 6th, with all five Donegal clubs fielding plenty of competitors, including some new members who hopefully enjoyed their first competitive riding club outing.

In the dressage arena our club got off to a strong start, with our members achieving podium finishes in four of the five classes. Dawn kicked off the day in style by winning class 1, while Libby, Anne, Francis and myself (Rachel, for those who don’t know!) managed second or third placings in our respective classes. In the show-jumping we decided to play a tactical game and lull the opposition into a (hopefully) false sense of security. Regina was the only one of us to finish in the top three in any of the classes, with Tirconaill, Stracomer and Inishowen riding clubs dominating the day.

As the league progresses the points table will become a focal point for everyone. Remember that to be eligible for league prizes you must take part in the final plus two previous legs. If you take part in all three previous legs you’ll have the luxury of having a “discard score” in hand, as it is your best three scores that are counted for your final result. Double points are awarded at the final, which can completely alter the overall placings if an unexpected combination takes a win on the day (I told you we were playing a tactical game). Get your entries in now for the Eglinton based leg…..and remember the dressage tests will be different to the ones used at the first leg.

Having checked the forecast for Sunday almost every day last week, I decided the best approach was going to be relying on the woman of the hour to see us right. Safe to say Orla pulled out all the stops and provided us with a really nice autumnal day. We had one brief spit of rain, and we all thought the RC100 class was going to get a downpour, but the weather gods decided to treat us right and our show enjoyed bright, if somewhat chilly, weather.

The last AIRC show in the area was the Donegal Gaeltacht riding club’s ‘Lawrence Smyth Memorial’ beach show, on the August bank holiday weekend, so riders had had a chance to work up a bit of a hunger for an outing. Added to this was the fact that the first leg of the North West Autumn League is being held next Sunday, in the same venue as our “Orla” show, meaning that an outing with us was an ideal warm-up for the league. The result was that we had great support from our neighboring clubs, with riders coming from as far as south Co. Sligo to take on the Seamus McCaffrey designed show jumping course, or to strut their stuff in front of Dressage Ireland listed judge Yvonne Chisholm. The Torrens family had, as always, ensured that Greenacres Equestrian Centre was in excellent condition, with all three arenas immaculate, the canteen in full service, and the car park clean and clear.

Dressage kicked off at 11am and the programme included a full range of ‘Open’ classes to enable dressage enthusiasts plenty of opportunities to try out different tests at various levels. Judge Yvonne Chisholm saw 20 combinations pass through the arena (some in somewhat questionable directions and at speeds that might have earned the riders a couple of points on their licence if it was a tarred road) and managed to send everyone away with encouraging comments and a feeling that all may not, after all, be lost! Results from the dressage arena are as follows:

Class	Place	Rider	Horse	Club
RCP1	1st	Sara McGowan	High Cross Ruby	Letterkenny
RCP1 Open	1st 2nd	Patricia Ward Erica Robb	Cara Touche Prince Loughmelvin Nonin	Tirconaill Letterkenny
RCP2	1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th	Victoria Hopkins Jennie Peoples Liz Potter Veronica Lafferty Ann Keaney Veronica Lafferty	Madge’s Lane Jen Ballybay Girl Clyde Comet Roxy of Leckaun Chicago	Stracomer Letterkenny Dgl Gaeltacht Inishowen Stracomer Inishowen
RCP2 Open	1st 2nd	Erica Robb Anna Cathcart	Loughmelvin Nonin Carlito Diamond	Letterkenny Letterkenny
RCP3	1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th	Lauren McLaughlin Lynne Thompson Anne Chambers Anne Chambers Amy McGarvey	Cullion Midnight Blue LTF Democratic Queen Cicatriz Dunwiley Cassius Fin Rough Diamond	Inishowen Inishowen Letterkenny Letterkenny Stracomer
RCP3 Open	1st	Rachel Carton	Aughavannon Merlin	Letterkenny
RCN	1st 2nd 3rd	Claire Kirkwood Rachel Carton Francis McNicholl	Dominoe’s Way Aughavannon Merlin Kerrykeel Darcey	Inishowen Letterkenny Letterkenny

Traditionally the Orla show was a Derby show, with some memorable Friday and Saturday evenings spent enclosing arenas and building courses on green-field sites. In recent years the climate has conspired against jumping on grass in Donegal and the show has evolved onto an all-weather extravaganza. This year we decided to forego a derby style course and run two-phase show jumping instead, with the addition of highly affordable training classes to enable riders to warm up or bring on younger mounts. The format took some combinations by surprise as both steed and rider, expecting a breather after eight or nine jumps, found they were having to memorise and navigate fourteen jumps with sixteen jumping efforts. The course definitely took a bit of riding, with a tricky stile on a dog-leg half way through and a short double following on from a long run to the previous oxer. The second round provided a couple of time saving options for those brave enough to take them, but accuracy and careful jumping proved the order of the day for successful competitors on a day where clear rounds were few and far between in the higher classes. Judge Cormac McCormac had little difficulty in separating the prize winners in the end.

RC70 1st Mary Walker, Dawn, Donegal Gaeltacht

2nd Seana Sheridan, Lady Penelope, Stracomer

3rd Eilish Calgie, Madges Lane Jen, Stracomer

4th Amy McGarvey, Fin Rough Diamond, Stracomer

5th Lynne Thompson, LTF Democratic Queen, Inishowen

6th Eilish Calgie, Stracomer Golddigger, Stracomer

RC80 1st Liz Potter, Clyde, Donegal Gaeltacht

2nd Veronica Lafferty, Comet, Inishowen

3rd Victoria Hopkins, Madges Lane Jen, Stracomer

4th Hiudai Harkin, Fin Rough Diamond, Donegal Gaeltacht

5th Regina Toland, Grand Redelis, Letterkenny

6th Veronica Lafferty, Chicago, Inishowen

RC90 1st Charlie Vial, Vancouver Cruise, Tirconaill

2nd Jennifer Bonner, Autumn Cannon, Donegal Gaeltacht

3rd Mickey McHugh, Lily, Donegal Gaeltacht

4th Shane McCole, Lisbrogan Swatch, Stracomer

5th Patricia Ward, Cara Touche Prince, Tirconaill

6th Anna Cathcart, Carlito Diamond, Letterkenny

RC100 1st Anne Chambers, Cicatriz, Letterkenny

2nd Shane McCole, Lisbrogan Swatch, Stracomer

3rd Stephen Greene, Indian Puzzle, Stracomer

4th Anna Cathcart, Carlito Diamond, Letterkenny

5th Mark Ward, Wild Child, Tirconaill

Letterkenny riding club are extremely grateful for the support and goodwill shown at our show in memory of Orla. She was a special lady and it was great to see so much enthusiasm and supportive, sporting spirit in her honor. Roll on 2025.

Photos below of the cup and shield winners on the day. For a comprehensive collection of photos please check out the Facebook pages of the five AIRC clubs in the Donegal District. Uploading multiple photos is beyond the abilities of my prehistoric laptop.