The first leg of the North West Riding Clubs autumn show jumping league took place at Lenamore Stables last Sunday, the 10th October. The weather gods were good to everyone, providing a fine dry day for spectators to enjoy as they watched the spectacle provided by the ever-enthusiastic riders. With a dearth of Donegal Gaeltacht riders at the show the spoils ended up getting fairly evenly divided between the other four clubs in the region. The primary division fell to Stracomer’s Anne Keaney on her lovely Roxy Of Leckaun, with this partnership narrowly beating Alida Byrne to deny the Tir Conail member top points on the leader board. Inishowen’s Hannah McNelis had to settle for third spot on board Jessie D. Better luck next time Hannah.

Inishowen bounced back with a vengeance in the Advanced Primary division, claiming both first and second spots, courtesy of some fantastic riding from Lynne Thompson and Samantha O’Neill respectively.

Our own youngster, Chloe McClafferty steered stalwart cob Bacardi into third spot ahead of Tir Conail’s Barry McGlynn. It turned out that Chloe was just warming up the crowd for her oul’ ma, and supporters were treated to some highly entertaining riding in the ultra-competitive Intermediate class before Marina proved that she was still a force to be reckoned with by streaking around on Fyfin Eko to bag the red rosette.

Suzanne used the jump-off round as an opportunity to audition for the Red Arrows flying team. If she isn’t snapped up as a definite team member it will be a travesty.

Mark Ward and his lovely Wild Child had everything their own way in the Advanced Intermediate and cruised into pole position on the leader board uncontested. Obviously the style and talent he displayed would have assured him of the same result regardless of the number of opponents, but it was nonetheless a nice start to the league to have a shoo-in on the first day.

The next leg of the league, on October 24th, sees us travel south west to the beautiful venue belonging to Charlie and Mona Vial. The prospect of getting more points up on the board should encourage all competitors to travel down, not to mention that there is no better way to spend a bank holiday Sunday than sharing the banter with a crowd of like minded riding mates. See you there.

A canny cameraman (or possibly woman) managed to capture this superb shot of the elusive Lesser Spotted Jenny. This clever creature regularly poses as a non-riding member, a strategy that allows her to go about her day to day training in the shadow of Muckish away from the glare of the fiercely carnivorous Greater Spotted Riding Members. It is believed these Lesser Spotted Jennys perfect their techniques before cunningly swooping to pick the prizes from under the beaks of their larger and better known cousins. Careful observation is advised.

It has been so long since the North West Riding Clubs has been able to run a league that it would probably be no harm to remind you all of just what good value this league is. For just E15.00 you can enjoy multiple training rounds at your chosen heights as well as entering your competitive graded class. The opportunity to pop your horse around the course at a lower height is a huge advantage for most riders, especially those of us who only get out jumping very intermittently and tend to be somewhat rusty. Your placing in your grade class will earn you points on the league leader board, hopefully leaving you in the running for some fantastic prizes at the final in mid-November.

The real value of the league though is the chance to jump multiple training rounds at any height up to, and including, the height at which you are currently graded. For those who have a novice horse to produce, or who might recently have acquired a new mount with which they wish to build up a partnership at a gentle pace, the opportunity to pop around a course at a low height is invaluable. Whilst it is always possible to hire an arena and school a horse privately this can equate to quite a different experience to being at a public outing where spectators, loud-speakers and the coming and going of other horses all adds to the education. Our riding club league shows offer members a chance to dip their toe (or hoof) in the showjumping arena without any of the cut-throat competitiveness of affiliated shows.

If you want to enter a horse in training rounds only, as opposed to jumping it in the actual league, you can put in a HC entry at just E5. So come on out to Lenamore Stables on Sunday 10th and blow away those cobwebs with some good clean fun in the sun (hopefully). Entries are online via the North West Riding Clubs itsplainsailing page. Find it at the following link.

https://www.itsplainsailing.com/org/nwrc?fbclid=IwAR27PpcbZu84xUEpOCySbVOmR9ymuDZfT1DpKBHLeChR8Q5iZFNHBeD95J0

Audrey would have enjoyed Sunday. As a matter of fact we can be pretty confident that she was sitting up above watching the day’s antics, laughing and cheering with the rest of us and thanking the oul’ fella on her left for keeping the wind under wraps for the day. Rain we can deal with, but wind is a whole other ball-game, especially when your jumps are fairly lightweight plastic rather than rain sodden timber. The support shown by all the clubs in the region was fantastic and it was particularly nice to see people swapping and sharing mounts to make up teams. Our own club members and their ever-patient and supportive families did trojan work to get the show rolling, both on the day and in the run up to it. There are definitely pros and cons to the pre-entry system, though the pros probably outweigh the cons. There is a lot to be said for having entry monies in ahead of the day and running orders sorted; allowing everyone to schedule their day to some extent.

Dressage has become a much more strongly supported discilpine in general, and we are certainly seeing this at riding club level, where entries for dressage classes are strong and requests are coming in for more dressage competitions to be run. The realisation that you don’t have to jump in order to be competitive has opened up a world of possibilities for everyone who likes to stay more or less attached to terra firma. Kyle Hayes of Aldertree Equine, in Enniskillen, did an excellent job of judging the dressage challenge on Sunday, providing encouraging but helpful comments and keeping the day moving at a good rate. As per the season norm Inishowen whipped our lilly asses in the dressage arena, though Tirconaill gave them a good run for their money. The team scores ended up remarkably close and there was less than 4% covering the top three teams.

The show jumping kicked off at midday, over an excellent course designed by Seamus McCaffrey, who was building again for us after a long lay-off. It was great to have him back in harness and he certainly posed a few questions with his course. The format of the jumping was somewhat unorthodox perhaps, but it certainly provided great entertainment whilst allowing everyone to stick to their own grade. It’s not often that a primary rider is head to head against an Advanced Intermediate on a score board. The heavens opened for a good portion of the afternoon but the enthusiasm of both competitors and supporters only grew as the day progressed. Primary riders proved themselves to be an exceptionally competent group, with Sinead Gibson in particular catching the eye and showing good stickability with some awkward moments. Our own Erica took a thump of a fall but soldiered on for the entire day to help with all the organisation of prizes and scoring before giving in and admitting to being very sore. Get well soon Erica.

The AP class was very well supported as always, and Letterkenny’s Kate Geoghegan put in an exemplary round to finish just 0.08 of a second off the optimum time, putting a valuable 20 points onto The Sinners team tally. Chloe McClafferty and the ever bouncy Bacardi was hot on her heels at just 0.26 of a second outside the time, while Tir Conail’s Laura Diver finished just 0.62 of a second off for the 3rd place 18 points.

The Intermediate class was mighty fun. With some excellent riders and some top-class horses (not always combined!!) giving it their best against the clock the competition was fierce. Eamon O’Donnell was doing great work for his club, the Tir Conail riding club, as he faced the challenge of Seamus’s winding course twice. Having sabotaged his first attempt, for the Red Arrows team, by missing out jump number 7, Eamon had no intention of putting a hoof wrong when he came in for The Specials. He promptly won the class by riding almost 2 seconds faster than the best of the rest. Stracomer Grey team’s Alicia Clyne had to settle for second with zero faults and a time of 46.62, with The Saints’ Marina Hamilton in third at 47.80. Ryan McBride, one of the comically named ‘A Rose Between Two Thorns’, gave the time a really good go, riding the second round in 39.33 seconds, but had 4 seconds to add from his first round as well as taking two poles in his second round. Enda McClafferty displayed a superb level of horsemanship, sitting like a mouse on the great London Jen to finish in sixth place in a time of 55.91. This is a pretty impressive performance from someone who rides about twice a year!

By the time the AI class was starting the excitement was reaching fever pitch and the finish line was in sight. Mark Ward kicked off proceedings for his first team, Andrea’s Bucks, and clocked in at 41.36 but had 4 seconds to add and ended up in 3rd place overall. The Sinners’ Anne Chambers rode the only double clear of the class and finished in second place on Aughavannon Merlin in a time of 44.90. When you bear in mind that Anne had never ridden Merlin before and Merlin hadn’t jumped a metre since Inishowen’s show in Lenamore (and that was a kind metre!) her performance was all the more impressive. Donegal Gaeltacht’s Cliff Haley put up the performance of the day on the ever reliable Sally Clover Supreme to jump his second round clear in 37.98. Even with a 4 second penalty to add from his first round he was the deserving winner of 20 points for his team of The Professionals.

The team results were exceptionally close, with both The Specials and The Sinners finishing on 55 points. With the team captains points being the deciding factors The Sinners came out on top, with Erica’s 16 points putting her ahead of Cyndi Graham’s 14 points.

To finish we in Letterkenny Riding Club would like to most sincerely thank everyone who made the day such a success. From those who stayed home to babysit, through the brave soldiers that withstood the rain to build and steward arenas, the riders who traveled long distances to take part, the judges that scored, the commentator who entertained, the score keepers who worked through the minefield of an odd scoring system, to the noble steeds without whom we’d all be members of walking clubs, we thank you.

Here’s to the great lady herself. And to next year…

Huge congratulations to all the North West Riding Clubs members who made the journey to Flowerhill Equestrian Centre to take part in the Association of Irish Riding Clubs hunter trial championship. Oliver Walsh had built great courses that required genuine riding ability rather than just basic stickability, though the latter never goes amiss across country! The ground was in superb condition and the weather was perfect.
In the advanced primary pairs Inishowens Dawn McAllister and Samantha O’Neill managed an excellent second place over the challenging course, not far ahead of club mates Lauren McLaughlin and Lynne Thompson in 5th place. Inishowen Riding Club continued their dominance of the grade by winning the Individual Championship, courtesy of a perfect round by Claire Kirkwood. Brenda Burke bounced back from an involuntary dismount in the pairs class to come an excellent third in the championship class, with Stracomer Riding Club unlucky to miss out on a placing when Vici Viki Hopkins came seventh.
The young horse class had just one representative from the North West, with John McDaid giving a text book educational outing to his four year old mare, jumping clear all the way but slightly slower than the optimum time (well actually a lot slower😉).
The intermediate pairs class had smaller entries than usual but the Tirconaill Riding Club pair of Mark Ward and Eamon O’Donnell rode well to capture second place, finishing with just two time faults. Rachel Carton and Anne Chambers streaked around between fences to finish on 17 time faults and earn the 4th place rosettes for Letterkenny Riding Club , closely followed by the inter-club pairing of Ryan Mc Bride and Megan Coxford in 5th. As usual the time was critical in the championship class and a relatively slow optimum time caused numerous time faults. Mark Ward managed to sneak into 5th place ahead of Megan Coxford in 6th. Anne Chambers finished with just 2 time faults, while Rachel clocked the fastest time in the class to end the day with LOTS of time faults.
In the mixed pairs class the Schneider sisters ran in to second place, while in the advanced intermediate class Emily Schneider was the sole representative from the North West and managed to finish with 35 time faults, having travelled at a slightly more sedentary pace than the course required.

As with all riding club events, the hunter trial championship can only go ahead with the help of numerous volunteers and both Letterkenny and Inishowen clubs had the job of stewarding fence 8 in Flowerhill. It was a lovely simple fence to keep an eye on and was positioned at a point on the course where horses and riders tended to have settled into their rhythm. With just one non-rider available between the two clubs the manning of the post fell largely to Rachel’s loyal sidekick Ed, who received a rapid induction to the ranks of club official. With our club camera man busy pen-pushing we are very grateful to Therese Anderson for capturing some great shots at fence 5.

With the last of the national championships behind us it’s time to turn attention to the hot competition that is the Audrey Jacob Team Challenge. Ask not what your club can do for you but rather what can you do for your club….get out and fly your clubs flag with pride at Greenacres Stud & Equestrian Centre on the 26th September. Bring your A-game!

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Suzanne and Rachel (and their trusty grooms/mechanics/co-drivers/catering chiefs/critics/engineering experts and general super-men) enjoyed a pleasant trip to the AIRC national eventing championships at Annaharvey Equestrian Centre. The road to Geashill is top class the whole way, making for a lovely smooth run, and the welcome at Ballycrystal Stud where the Lacy family offer stabling for Annaharvey events, was as warm as you’ll get anywhere. The discovery of a bent trailer axle was rapidly dealt with by the support team…Ballycrystal supplying timber, screws and a screw-driver…while the ladies headed off to walk their xc course and collect dinner for the team. Sleep was had (by some) and the Sunday morning saw the Donegal horses plaited and primped before heading the five miles up the road to Annaharvey.

As a venue Annaharvey offers pretty reliable going, with a lot of the xc course upgraded to an all-weather gravel track to allow for inclement weather. Any grass stretches bore a strong resemblance to concrete and studs were definitely a necessity rather than a fashion accessory, even for the sedate paces achieved in the dressage arena. Suzanne was delighted with a relaxed Jimmy Mac (aka Dubai Flyer) supplying her with a personal best score between the white boards. Rachel and Merlin rode a nice test also and were lying in fourth place after the dressage element. The ladies success in the dressage is largely down to Mary Devines tough coaching on the preceding Wednesday, when both riders were put through their paces at Rachel’s arena. Rachel’s dressage test was caught on camera by one of the back-up team.

The showjumping phase of the one-day-event was extremely challenging, with the slight undulations of the arena catching out a lot of horse and rider combinations, resulting in very few clear rounds on the day in any class. Suzanne steered Jimmy around in respectable fashion, finishing with two poles (but no riders) on the ground. Rachel made the crucial mistake of interfering with Merlin, who would have jumped round clear with his eyes closed if left alone, and ended up with one jump down. Rachel’s showjumping round was also captured on video by one of the support team but it’s waaaaay too embarrassing to upload so you’ll have to take our word for it that it was disgraceful!! However with neither rider eliminated in the showjumping it was onwards and upwards to the xc.

Suzanne and Dubai Flyer were going from strength to strength as the day progressed and the pair took the xc course in their stride, finishing with some time faults but clear jumping. The smile on Suzanne’s face as she galloped over the line was enough to encourage Rachel as she headed out on the (n)ever brave Merlin. Merlin took the first two jumps at his usual hesitant pace but got into his stride after the river crossing and was one of just four horses to finish without time faults over the galloping course. The team camera man had a good strategic spot from which to see most of the course and filmed both riders as they finished. Suzanne took the correct course. Rachel did not! Those with decent sound on their video playback will hear the moment Rachel realised she was jumping the Open/Advanced-Open option at number 17. The only small consolation was that the disgraceful showjumping round had already ruled the Rachel&Merlin combo out of the ribbons. Both riders and horses left Annaharvey having thoroughly enjoyed the experience and keen for the next outing. (not so sure about the support teams feelings)

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Inishowen’s show at Lenamore on the 25th of July was one of the best supported events in the region for a long time, with dressage running from 10 in the morning till well after 6pm. As the dressage was a qualifier for the national championships the results were very eagerly awaited and the hosts had the unenviable task of tracking numerous team entries as well as the individuals. The results were as follows

Intro

1^st Clodagh Brady – Kildare Hailey’s Comet, Stracomer

2^nd Teri Hall – Redhot – Pepper, Stracomer

3^rd Grace Rodgers – Kildrum Boy, Inishowen

4^th Joanne McCartney – Zaitsev, Inishowen

5^th Caroline Harrie – Carnaff G Holly, Stracomer

6^th Hannah McNelis – Jessie D, Inishowen

Primary

1^st Alex Coyle – Lily Rowan, Stracomer

2^nd Clodagh Brady – Kildare Hailey’s Comet, Stracomer

3^rd Teri Hall – Redhot – Pepper, Stracomer

4^th Joanne McCartney – Zaitsev, Inishowen

5^th Hannah McNelis – Jessie D, Inishowen

6^th Ciara Boyle Ballylennon Duke, Donegal Gaeltacht.

Advance Primary

1^st Claire Kirkwood – Actinium Lily,  Inishowen

2^nd Therese Anderson – Its Zoro, Benbulben

3^rd Sinead Gibson – Shannahjmore Ring Master, Donegal Gaeltacht

4^th Victoria Hopkins – Moonlight Shade, Stracomer

5 Sinead Gibson – Well Dun Welby, Donegal Gaeltach

6^th Tina Reaney – Magil, Donegal Gaeltacht

Intermediate

1^st Amelia McFarland – Ruby of Inishfree, Letterkenny

2^nd Megan Coxford – Carrickview Undercover, Inishowen

3^rd Lauren McLaughlin – Actinium Lily, Inishowen

4^th Leah Farrell – General Amiro, Benbuben

5^th Lynne Thompson – Blackstown Master Class, Inishowen;

6^th Lauren McLaughlin – Cullion Midnight Blue, Inishowen

Advance Intermediate

1^st Rachel Carton – Aughavannon Merlin,  Letterkenny

2^nd Jodie Carr – Tullibards Smiling Lady,  Ard Lu

3^rd Tara Fergus Sheridan – Tirconaill River Rose, Stracomer

4^th John McDaid – Corskeagh Express, Donegal Gaeltacht

5^th Andrea Gallagher – Annie’s Lad, Tir Conaill

Dressage Teams

1^st Inishowen – Lauren McLaughlin (Actinium Lily), Lynne Thompson (Blackstown Master Class), Dawn McAllister (Farrah)

2^nd Stracomer – Tara Fergus Sheridan (Tirconaill River Rose), Jodie Fergus (Carrickfact Rocco), Victoria Hopkins (Moonlight Shadow)

3^rd Letterkenny – Amelia McFarland (Ruby of Inishfree), Rachel Carton (Aughavannon Merlin), Vera Keatings (Madges Land Jen)

4^th Donegal Gaeltacht – Ciara Boyle (Ballylennon Duke), Tina Reaney (Magil), Sinead Gibson (Shannaghmore Ring Master), Michael McHugh (Simply Mitch)

5^th Stracomer – Eva McGlone (Haslemere Rose), Coleen Granaghan (Super Nova), Alex Coyle (Lily Rowan), Teri Hall (Redhot Pepper)

6^th Stracomer – Kelly Fergus (Art Monarch), Samantha O’Sullivan (Redpark Clover), Beverley Ann Slack (Rainbow Dancer), Victoria Hopkins (Bo Peat)

Team scores are calculated by adding together the scores achieved by the individual team members and the winning Inishowen team had an excellent score of 215 points. Stracomer narrowly pipped the Letterkenny team for second place, scoring 207.9pts while our team finished with a final score of 207.7pts. It’s safe to say you cant get much closer than that at a national qualifier. With so many teams entered for the qualifier there was an increased chance of securing a place at the nationals, and the Donegal Gaeltacht team also won a golden ticket to Mullingar.

As so often happens at our amateur level in the sport the trip to the championships was not realistically on the cards for a lot of competitors and Amelia will be the only Letterkenny athlete to take on the best of the rest in Sunday’s competition. We wish her the very best of luck. Fly the flag high Amelia.

Somewhat belatedly we can report that the club training day in Dirraw was a great success. The heat made things challenging but everyone took things at a sensible pace and allowed plenty of cool down breaks in the shade. Many thanks for the photographic evidence provided, and especially to Erica for organising everything.

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Our next training day is the Regional training day, being organised this year by the Inishowen club. This is being held at Gordon’s Bay Equestrian on August 15th. Participants may choose two disciplines to enter and these can both be the same or different. Or you can choose to do one lesson only. Participants may train above or below their AIRC grade.The bookings for it will open on July 26th and can be accessed on the Inishowen itsplainsailing page, which you’ll find at the following link.

http://www.itsplainsailing.com/clubs/irc

While most of our members were content to indulge in one day of equestrian activities last weekend Suzanne and Rachel headed straight from Dirraw to Cloncaw Equestrian in Monaghan to take part in the Border Counties Riding Club one-day-event on Sunday. The Bellew family had the venue in excellent shape and the day went very smoothly with high commendation having to go to the host club for the professionalism of the day. The army of volunteers it takes to host a day like that is not to be underestimated and there seemed to be no stone left un-turned to assure people went home happy. Congratulations to all the Donegal riders who took home rosettes and prizes.

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Tomorrow, 25th July sees a good few of us heading to Lenamore Stables to take part in the Inishowen Riding Club show, which is also a qualifier for the national dressage championships in Mullingar on the 8th of August. The heat is forecast to diminish slightly tomorrow but great care needs to be taken to ensure both yourselves and your horses are not adversely affected by the pretty extreme conditions. Inge D’Haese has drawn up the following guide to help understand the best way of dealing with the uncharacteristically hot weather we are experiencing.

Before the competition:• Supply electrolytes in your horse’s feed (follow supplier’s recommendations). This will make them drink more and remain well hydrated. Dehydrated horses will overheat more easily.• Work them during the cooler times of the day.• Ventilate the stables well.• If they are out in the field, make sure there is some shade.• Make sure fresh water is always made available.• Condition your horse to being hosed down and being cooled down with bucket s of water being thrown over it.• Hairy horses may benefit from a summer clip.• Keep your horses lean as overweight horses have a harder time with thermoregulation.

Upon arrival at the competition:• Ventilate lorries/trailers well: if it feels warm to you, it certainly is for your horse.• If the box is too warm, unload them and find a place in the shade.• Offer fresh cool water regularly – do not withhold water for any reason.• If your horse is sweated up, take it off the lorry and wash it down with cool water.• In warm weather it takes less time to warm up your horses.• Try to find shade when waiting to go into the ring or waiting to start your XC.

After your round/ cross country phase:• Make sure you have some help at the finish line to ensure your horse can be cooled down. Bring buckets, sponges and scrapers. Water for the rider is also a good idea.• Ensure there is cool water available at the finish – if not make sure you take some.• Dismount immediately when finished – don’t make your horse work harder than it already has.• At least loosen the girth or, even better, take saddle off and immediately wash the horse down with cool water.• Keep the horse walking.• Offer your horse cool (not too cold) drinking water.• Using cold water to cool down your horse will NOT do your horse or its muscles ANY HARM, it will help cool it down though which can be vital.• It is best to keep throwing cool water down your horse’s neck and back. Scraping is not necessary when constantly throwing more water on. If there is plenty of help, it may be useful to scrape the warm water off quickly before replacing it with cool – but this should not delay further water administration.• Keep the horse walking in the finishing area until sufficiently recovered, then walk it back to the box.

Signs of hyperthermia/overheating– ask for veterinary help when:• Blowing harder than normal and for longer than normal.• Horse is not paying attention to you or the environment.• Sweating profusely.• Horse becoming wobbly/drunk.• Horse collapsing.

Remember prevention is better than cure, so look after your horse’s needs first and foremost!

Best of luck everyone.

As Suzanne commented when she shared this lovely photo “a lovely way to end the week”. With a couple of riders having to pull out at the last minute the group was a little smaller than originally expected but those that were able to make it had a truly balmy evening for their sociable schooling session.

Next Saturday brings our club training day in Dirraw farm, with cross country sessions under the watchful eye of Toni Donnelly while Mary Devine tackles the unenviable task of improving our way of going on the flat. This is a fantastic venue, with the added bonus of a very well appointed log cabin in which a leisurely lunch can be enjoyed between sessions. Full details will be shared later this week as soon as Erica dots all the i’s and crosses her t’s.

Following on from the intensive training sessions and high-pressure competitive events of the recent weeks (slightly stretching the boundaries of honest journalism with that description I know, but work with me) club members had a chance to relax and let their hair down on Sunday. Leo hosted an idyllic summer rideout, with the group taking in the iconic Grianan of Aileach as they ambled around quiet country roads. Finishing up the day with a delicious barbeque was an added bonus. Watch this space for word of our next outings.