Special Olympian honoured at Connaught SJAI Awards

Ponies and young riders

Frank Mulvihill

The magnificent Breaffy House in Castlebar was the venue for the 2003 Connaught Region Show Jumping Awards last Saturday evening. Over 40 riders and members of all ages were presented with the finest selection of cut glass and equestrian statuette trophies - all courtesy of equestrian benefactor Ray Halpin who owns Elite trophies and Rosettes in Galway.

The occasion was particularly special as the first award of the evening was bestowed on Irish Special Olympian medallist Micheal Joyce from Castlebar. The amazing success of the 2003 Special Olympics will be remembered for a long time, but the effort and achievements of competitors and trainers must not be underestimated. The achievement of Micheal Joyce in securing a silver medal involved endless hours of coaching and mentoring, and in the end Micheal had to carry it off by himself in the arena.

It was fitting, therefore, that his trainer Sandra Duffy, and Charles Shaw, who provided the venue for training and also acted as mentor, were invited to join the medallist on the stage for the presentation.

In the words of Shaw: "I was present and very proud putting on the green jacket in Hartbury a couple of years ago when Ireland won the European Young Rider Show Jumping medal, but the achievement of Micheal Joyce at the Special Olympics was a very special moment.''

The effort put in by Sandra Duffy (from Ballina) as trainer was an example of selfless commitment which she and many others like her display without seeking acknowledgement or reward. This is the essence of the Special Olympics movement and it was fitting that the Connaught Region of the SJAI did not let the occasion pass without celebrating it.

Stage set for Classic final in Wallslough

With the remaining two qualifiers for the Irish Pony Club Senior Show Jumping Classic completed, the stage is now set for what promises to be a most competitive final in Wallslough, Co Kilkenny this Saturday. The Warrington qualifier proved to be just as tough as the others with local rider and European bronze medallist Mark Flynn winning impressively on the palomino pony Poetics Girl, who jumped clear in a time of 28.71.

Flynn needed every bit of that time to keep Kildare's Nicola Fitzgibbon and the grey Miami Bound at bay as his Irish teammate clocked 29.38 to finish in second place and make it to the final. Flynn also took fourth place with Suir Flow which was not fast enough to catch Westmeath girl Mary Ellen Rice and Brosnavilla in third. Warrington also had David Brennan (Red Hot), John Brennan (Gaulstown Prophet) and Alan Drennan (Frosty) in the rosettes and will have a strong representation at the final.

Meanwhile, Leona Shanahan (Lady Abigail) from Wexford, Niamh O'Connor (Bawnea M&M) from Carberry, and Cori Wemyss (Red Fred) from Kilkenny will meet again as a result of some fine performances here.

Clonshire Equestrian Centre in Adare provided the venue for riders' last opportunity to qualify for the Wallslough showpiece and, despite the small field of entries, there was a good standard. Kingdom Pony Club's Adrian Sheehan and Ireland's representative at the World Breeding Championships, Suir Clover, won out ahead of Carberry's Grace Santry and Daydream Believer in this one. Martha Healy, also from the Kingdom Branch, was third with Danesfort Spirit ahead of Tracy O'Sullivan (Presentation) and Lydia McElligott (Greenfield Heights).

Course designer, Tony Ennis, is sure to have a testing track for this weekend's Senior Classic final which will see the successful riders reap the rewards of a number of training bursaries including one with Gillie and Suzanne Bockmann near Bremen in Germany, and another with Robert Fagan In Mullingar.