With two shows on the scorecard, things start getting a little more exciting on the league points table. Riders who have moved up a class in the novice division drop their points from the previous level and are awarded a 1* participation point in their place. Thus Rudi and Hazel drop their points from last week’s Welcome Stakes and register a score on the Primary sheet instead.

Very well done to all competitors, especially the winners. If there are any questions about the points, please contact Libby.

NWL 2012 · Results · Show 2
NWL 2012 · Points Table · Show 2 

Horses were transported in two directions through Letterkenny on Sunday as half the equestrian fraternity headed to the Donegal Harriers meet at Kilmacrennan while the other half travelled to Show 2 of the North West League in Templemore. Leo and Manus, two diehard huntsmen, opted for coloured poles for a change while Keary, winner at Templemore a week ago, went mysteriously AWOL for the day.

The value of the league as a training event was illustrated beautifully at Show 2 when some of last week’s quaking novices moved up a grade and covered themselves in glory in the process. Louise, sticking to cross poles for the league, described her tumble off Daisy at the end of her second round in lighthearted tones and then grinned ear-to-ear as she explained how she had done the course at a canter this week. She was joined in the class by Denis Kelly who, despite a two month absence from the saddle, flew around the course in fine style on his lovely cob, Davy Arthur, before going on to face the challenge of the Welcome Stakes. The Letterkenny contingent was completed by Orla, trialling the handsome Mr Ted in competition for the first time. Judging by the smile on her face, we might just be seeing a bit more of Ted at the league.

Last week’s debutant, Hazel, and her Gaeltacht rival Rudi Schneider, made the giant step up to Primary competition level and acquitted themselves admirably with highly competitive rounds. They finished fifth and second respectively but it was Liz who again dominated the competition with a flawless round on Judy. There were no navigational hiccups to capture the attention of the spectators but Liz had another ace up her sleeve with which to wow the crowds. Seconds after handing over her valiant mount to her groom, she opened her picnic basket and pulled out a spectacular homemade sponge cake, proving herself a multi-talented club member who understands that good food is an essential step to success.

New club member, Orla Moore, ventured out for her first league appearance on Lenamore’s Ballyarnett Lass. She followed a 70cm training round with her competitive debut in the Advanced Primary class and was still smiling happily when her day’s work was done. Young Ailbhe Kelly of the Gaeltachts put last week’s nasty fall behind her and jumped a lovely clear round in the Advanced Primary competition before her father, Manus, gave everybody a masterclass in the art of positive riding. He landed himself 4th place for his effort on Angel Bluebell while his great hunting buddy, Leo, went one place better on Cool. The class was won by the evergreen septuagenarian Lawrence Smyth on Jenny’s Jigsaw for the Gaeltachts.

Although Keary was conspicuously absent this week, Anne was riding in the 90cm competition. She gave Molly a really lovely positive, confident ride and finished her round with no jumping penalties. As luck would have it, despite appearing to travel in a good ground-covering rhythm, she incurred a single time penalty and we were thus deprived of a jump off in the Intermediate class. Victory went to Rachael McCrossan on Batteries Not Included who jumped the only penalty-free round of the class. It was a well-deserved victory for a competitor who has put in a lot of hard work and effort over a number of years. May it be the first of many wins for you, Rachael.

The four Advanced Intermediate competitors fought out a quietly tense and exciting battle for this week’s precious points. First to go, Cormac jumped a beautiful round on the formerly-recalcitrant Charlotte only to hear that dreaded announcement “time faults”. Stephen and Marina both left poles on the ground and when Damien rode an immaculate clear round on a razor-sharp Armstrong, all hope of a jump off went flying out the window. No excitement for the crowd and no adrenalin rush for Cormac, but that should take nothing away from a very impressive win.

Laura Schneider of the Gaeltachts chanced a 1.10 m round on Chloe Lass and thus our Open competition got off the ground for 2012 to conclude a great day’s entertainment and enjoyment.

Thanks to everybody who helped out on the day in any way. Don’t forget to make yourself available to Paddy, Packie and Patricia for a bit of helper duty at the next few shows. Action continues in two weeks’ time on Sunday 4 March.

Pictured below: New member Orla Moore discusses her first competitive riding club round with Cormac and her mother. More photos to come in the Gallery. See the Gaeltachts‘ site for photos too.

Full results are now compiled. Well done everybody.

Points are awarded on a descending scale from 7 to 2 for placings. You are awarded 1 point for an unplaced effort and 1* point for participation HC in a training class. And you get just a * if you turned up on the day, entered, but didn’t manage to ride your round. Nobody is left out!

If there are any questions about the points table, please chat to the points officer, Libby, on 086 830 1392.

NWL 2012 | Points Table | 12 February
2012 North West League | Results | Show 1 

Good weather is half the battle. Good company and good fun are the other ingredients vital to a day’s pleasure. All three were present as the North West League got its fourth season off to a bang-up start at Templemore on Sunday. What a pleasure it was to set up practice jumps with dry sand underfoot and to finish the day with scarcely a smear of mud plastered on trusty riding boots.

By 10.30 am there were already a very respectable number of vehicles parked at Templemore and many members had turned up well ahead of their scheduled jumping time to help out with running the show. As soon as Packie rolled in, the pace of action was ratcheted up. His familiar growl hailed half-warmed-up novices from the practice arena and shepherded them to the bright lights of the indoor competition ring.

Letterkenny had several new recruits competing for their first time with aplomb. Louise Edwards, half dead after a bout of blood poisoning during the week, put in a great effort on Daisy and seems to have been bitten by the bug. Hazel was thrilled with Sapphire as she romped around the crosspoles and the Welcome Stakes.

Some of the novice recruits have four legs, not just two, and Rachel’s youngster Lotto covered herself with glory in the Welcome Stakes and 70cm training classes. The 70cm competitive class, Primary, was won in great style by our own Liz Cuffe. She delivered a foot perfect  first round on Judy and the pair set off confidently on their second round. Somewhere along the way, concentration went out the window and Liz  took the wrong line as she should have been approaching the double. Utterly non-plussed, she calmly steered Judy back on track in a manoeuvre worthy of a Grand Prix dressage arena and nonchalantly cleared both elements of the double from a rakish angle.

Letterkenny’s fine start to the season continued in the Advanced Primary division when Keary rode the talented Molly to a foot perfect double clear. Clear rounds were thin on the ground after a long winter with little competitive activity. Things will be very different come the final on 25 March!

Christopher Pyper made an eye catching effort on Mick’s Angel. Although there were some disagreements in the practice arena as Angel flexed her angelic muscle, by the end of their jumping efforts the new partnership was harmonious and effective and will go from strength to strength. Mick, you’d have been very proud of Angel. She looked fantastic and Christopher, although of a slightly different physical stature, falls perfectly into the Mick-mould in terms of effort and determination.

Libby’s Fenway put in a rare appearance, jumping for the first time since July 2010 in the 80cm training class. Whether or not he makes it to another leg of the league remains to be seen but the pair thoroughly enjoyed their day of action and have their fingers and hooves crossed for the future.

The Intermediate class at 90cm produced just two clear rounds but they generated a memorable jump off between Letterkenny’s newcomer, Joanne Cuffe, and Tirconaill’s accomplished star, Shane McCole. They both gave it their all but Joanne’s time on Judy was faster and she left all the poles in their cups. What a debut! Well done Joanne.

It was left to Stephen Green of the Gaeltachts to prevent a Letterkenny clean sweep. With just four riders in the Advanced Intermediate class, the odds were stacked 3:1 in Letterkenny’s favour. That became a 50/50 bet when Marina and Stephen pulled off clear rounds to bring things to a jump off. And it was Stephen who bested Marina with his 4 faults beating her 8. Great efforts from both pairs and they’re sure to battle the division out. In third place came Cormac, miraculously back on board Charlotte after an intimate experience with the coronary care unit at Letterkenny General Hospital earlier in the week.

The 1m training class concluded the day. It was great to finish up in daylight and spring seems just around the corner. It was a marvellous start to the competitive year and an absolute pleasure to get out with friends from our own club and neighbouring Donegal Gaeltacht and Tirconaill.

Thanks to everybody who helped out on the day and congratulations to all the competitors and, particularly, the winners. See you in a week’s time.

Pictured below: Liz and Joanne Cuffe with the day’s real hero, Judy. There’s a handful of photos in the Gallery.