Beach Show the highlight of this bank holiday weekend

Certain events win a place in the subconscious alongside Christmas and birthdays, first communions and confirmations. The Donegal Gaeltacht’s beach show has earned its place in this calendar of annual highlights. It wouldn’t be the June bank holiday weekend without the long slow drive out to Falcarragh and the familiar thrill as the jeep crests the hill and the view of the Ballyness Bay show ground opens out below in all its unique splendour.

Get there in good time, from 10am onwards. Head through Falcarragh, out the western side, and follow the AIRC signs turning right off the main road. There’ll be a long line at the entries lorry but you’ll find that the queuing time passes quickly as you chat to friends and rivals from all the clubs in the region. Show jumping kicks off at 11, showing at 12, and dressage at 1pm. Remember to bring your AIRC card and your horse’s passport.

Pack a picnic and bring along a fold up chair. The weather isn’t going to be quite as good as it is today but it will be plenty good enough for hours of socialising at the side of the show jumping arena. Bring a fleece and a jacket and you’ll be all set for the long day.

There’s no handy tap at the beach so fill a drum or two of water for your horse and bring a haynet so that you can relax and enjoy being a spectator with a good conscience. Or if your competition schedule isn’t too hectic, take the time to explore the other side of the giant dunes and enjoy a long canter along one of the most spectacular beaches in the country.

Donegal Gaeltacht Beach Show | June 2011
AccuWeather | Burtonport

See you there!

Pictured below: The Beach Show, 2009 and 2010.

Whip surfaces in silage fields of Castleshanaghan

The first cut of silage has just been taken from Audrey and Cecil’s lovely big fields at Castleshanaghan. Like a needle in a haystack, a whip was spotted amongst the vast volumes of freshly mown grass sucked up by the huge machines. So, who lost a good black stick a with green and black grip and “Castle” on the business end of things? Answers to Audrey on 087 285 3687.

Pictured below: The club had two great visits to Castleshanaghan in 2010 — once at midsummer and again in early September.

Horze Ireland tack shop at Beach Show

The Gaeltachts have lured the sponsors of the Western Region Spring League to the seaside. Horze Ireland are having a GALAXY Sale at the beach show which will cover all clothing items, coats, jackets, tops, t-shirts, riding shirts, brushes, saddle cloths, tack, almost everything including competition wear, with discounts of up to 35% off.  They have a new mobile credit card/laser machine having its first outing on the Sunday so make sure there’s some work for it in Donegal, if you need anything or just feel like some dangerous retail therapy.

Opportunity to register older horses with known breeding

One of the topics which arose during Friday evening’s showing clinic was Horse Sport Ireland’s current initiative enabling owners to register the breeding of their older horses for a comparatively affordable sum. Basically, if you know the breeding of your horse but didn’t have the means of proving it and therefore only have a white passport, now is your opportunity to verify the breeding and get a green book (provided its pedigree meets the appropriate criteria). Evidence shows that horses with a green book are generally more valuable than horses with white books. Their offspring is also more valuable, if you ever plan to breed.

Find out about the initiative (which only runs to 31 August 2011) on the Horse Sport Ireland website.

Dare to hope

We’re close enough now to the beach show to raise our heads cautiously above the wet and blustery parapet and catch a glimpse of next Sunday’s forecast. Never say die. In spite of all the god-awful weather we’ve experienced in May, there’s a little glimmer of yellow, sun-shiney hope at the end of the wind tunnel. We’re not asking for miracles — just a reasonable day’s weather for the most unusual venue in Ireland.

Keep an eye on how things develop on AccuWeather | Burtonport.

Showing clinic illustrates level of professionalism needed to succeed in the show ring

There’s no news yet of any members who travelled to Annagry for Sunday’s show jumping but eight mounted members participated in a very entertaining showing clinic at Glenleary on Friday evening.

Mary Finneran began the session with a talk on all aspects of the discipline. From conditioning the horse to tailoring the turn-out, she presented a pretty daunting picture of the effort required to be successful in the show ring. Eyebrows were raised at the required amount of “condition” which is deemed desirable in show horses but the same eyebrows were raised yet higher as the discussion moved on quite naturally to the appropriateness of thongs in the showing wardrobe.

With everybody feeling decidedly under dressed for the occasion, a motley collection of eight specimen show horses were mounted for the “showing class”. Ex-racehorses Tom and (Suzanne’s) Jack paraded their stuff next to Connemara Dante, Anglo-Arab Mai, Irish Draught Daisy, and sport horse/hunters Molly, Britney and (Laura’s) Jack. Mary gave great guidance on ring craft while helping each individual to improve their horse’s way of going. Jenny was the judge’s steward for the evening and kept the exhibitors on their toes as she quietly conveyed Mary’s instructions.

At the end of the class it was Dante who took the top placing with Mary selecting him for the consistently pleasing picture of horse and rider that Rachel had managed to present through all four paces. Meanwhile, at the other end of the line, Libby’s already jaundiced view of the show ring was further coloured by being placed a well-deserved last on Mai for “dangerous behaviour”. (She’s considering slipping Kevin McGuinness a gum shield before he takes the ride at the Beach Show next Sunday.)

The session ended with a discussion of the most suitable classes for each horse in the ring and Mary was encyclopaedic in her knowledge of the characteristics that constitute each type of show animal. To the frustration of a few people, it was clear that there are horses that fall between two stools — there just isn’t a class for everybody.

Thanks to Martina for arranging a great evening and providing the refreshments and to Mary for sharing a lifetime’s knowledge and experience.

Showing, show jumping and more on the cards this weekend

Our showing clinic gets the weekend off to a classy start at Glenleary this evening. Martina has everything arranged and the session will kick off at 7pm.

On Sunday, both adults and children can enjoy a great day’s show jumping at the Annagry Show where classes begin for ponies at 11 am and continue throughout the day. See the full details: Annagry Show 2011 | Schedule.

And for anybody who doesn’t feel like showing or show jumping, there’s the whole of Donegal to enjoy on horseback. Even if you can’t hack out directly from your yard, a 5-minute run with your trailer or lorry would probably get you to scenic and traffic-free back roads or a great beach.

Enjoy the weekend, whatever you choose to do with your horse.

Happy to have the blues on a Wednesday night in Ecclesville

It was clears all round on a great night in Ecclesville as the Letterkenny team performed with aplomb at the the Strule Valley Team Show Jumping Challenge. With Marina unable to ride on the night, Tanya stepped up to the plate to do double duty, riding Jack at 75cm before switching to Leo’s indefatigable Cool to deliver another clear for the team at 85cm. Paddy and Leo did the rest of the heavy lifting to leave the team in close contention when things got down to serious business.

It all came down to time at the end and the club came off a gallant second best to take the blue rosettes. Well done everybody. What a great performance — we’re very proud of you.