Last minute invitation from Benbulben RC to meet IHWT fundraising travellers

Leah McNulty from Benbulben Riding Club has been thrown in at the deep end hosting some very worthy visitors this Thursday evening. It’s probably too short notice for anybody to attend but here’s her invitation:

Hi All,

Just wanted to let ye know that Frances Micklem & Susi Allen who are undertaking the Susi Allen Road Trip for Animal Welfare in aid of Irish Horse Welfare Trust —see healingbyfranc.blogspot.com— are in Sligo tomorrow. They will be in McGarrys Riding Centre Carrowmore tomorrow night, Thursday, at 9pm to talk about what they are doing & why. If you are interested please come along. This is a very worthy cause & if we had more notice (I found out today they are here tomorrow!) we could have held a fundraiser so instead of that please come out tomorrow night & support these women as they undertake this mammoth journey.
I would like to say a very big thank you to Charles & Mary Cooper who are very kindly providing stabling for the horses and Mary Lang who is providing beds for the riders, at incredibly short notice.
To the rest of the RC’s in our region please be on the lookout for these ladies & help them out where you can.
Regards,
Leah McNulty

Something new for Primary show jumpers at our cross jump

Primary riders rejoice – you are going to be allowed out of the sand arena this Sunday! Marina and Keary have devised a course which begins and ends in the arena but brings Primary riders out onto the grass around two of the adjoining fields. The jumps will all be coloured poles with the exception of one (possibly two) very negotiable miniature cross country obstacles.

This won’t appeal to every primary rider but we hope those who prefer to keep to a single fenced-in space will agree that there’s no shortage of other opportunities for them during the course of the year.

Falcarragh cup eludes Aodhan

Francis, Nadine, Damien, Aodhan, Mick, Leo and Catherine (and possibly some other stragglers?) travelled to the Falcarragh Gymkhana on Sunday and did their best to wrest the cup from Falcarragh hands. But it was a Coleraine invader who captured the spoils despite Aodhan’s best efforts on Kaiser. The pair had to settle for second place on the day but performed beautifully and their day will come.

Photographic evidence strongly suggests that Nadine finished third on Molly but this has yet to be officially verified!

The event was by all accounts a great success and everybody enjoyed themselves a lot, even if the infamous cup eluded our members on the day.

Pictured below: Aodhan and Kaiser warming up. More photos in the Gallery.

Great win for Donegal at National Show Jumping Championships

Patricia Warren, regional secretary and stalwart Donegal Gaeltacht competitor, rose to the occasion yet again to win the Open Championship at Sunday’s AIRC National Show Jumping Championship in Mullingar on He’s a Dandy. She was in the ribbons with Colourado Kid also. There were just three entries from the Donegal clubs – all from the Gaeltachts – proving yet again that the combination of date and venue just doesn’t seem to best suit our members. Maybe in 2011…

Full Results | National SJ Championships 2010

Pictured below: Patricia on He’s a Dandy at the Beach Show, Falcarragh, June 2010.

Full schedule for August 1 “Credit Crunch” Beach Show

The Donegal Gaeltacht Riding Club have published the full schedule for their second show of the year on the beach at Ballyness Bay, Falcarragh. It promises to be another great (and very affordable) day and this time the enterprising schedule includes a full suite of showing classes for everything from connemaras to hunters and riding horses.

If possible, enter your dressage in advance to help the organisers plan the day.

Beach Show Schedule | August 2010

Pictured below: Tanya riding her dressage test on Al at the June Beach Show, 2010.

Plenty of weekend activity on the show jumping front

The AIRC National Show Jumping Championships take place this Sunday in Mullingar but, as in other years, it’s local events in Donegal which will attract our members.

In the south west of the county, Elaine O’Sullivan is the power behind the annual registered jumping at Ardara Show. Further north, Packie Ferry and Tommy McGinley are orchestrating the annual Falcarragh Gymkhana where competition will be mighty for the celebrated cup.

Contact details for both events are on our Calendar page.

LRC Crossjump & Dressage, Lenamore, Sunday 25 July

Marina and Keary have all the homework done for our Crossjump & Dressage event on Sunday 25 July. The schedule is complete.

Everybody will be called on in the week before the event and on the day itself to undertake all kinds of responsibilities from hammering nails and jump stewarding to taking entries and totting up results. Marina and Keary will be in touch with all members to organise a rota.

LRC XJump+Dressage Schedule 2010 · Download

Pictured below: Nadine riding her winning dressage test on Molly and Sharon O’Donnell completing her first place round in the crossjump on Sky in 2010.