2008: A good year for developing riders

By Frank Mulvihill

31 January 2009 : 2008 opened with news of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games scheduled to take place in 2010. Five cities were shortlisted as potential venues: Athens, Bangkok, Moscow, Singapore and Turin.

Two young Irish riders - David Power from Kilkenny and Aisling Doherty from Donegal - went to Germany to spend 10 days training with Dietmar Gugler. They were selected following their participation in the SJAI training programme for young riders.

Silver for Irish in France

Despite bad weather at the international pony show in Fontainebleau, the Irish distinguished themselves with three wins and a host of top-10 placings. Ireland was drawn last-to-jump of five in the Pony Nations' Cup and came second overall. Fifteen-year-old Shane Connell's single time fault on Murphy's Flight in the CSIOP Grand Prix was enough to win the competition in a two-horse jump-off with Denmark's Alexandra Sisseck. Connell was joined in the Grand Prix top 10 by Galway's Jessica Burke, who finished fourth, while Emma Smyth and Michael Duffy accounted for 10th and 11th place. In the CSIP Grand Prix, Kilkenny's Vincent Byrne took third place with Hayley Dunne taking eighth.

McDonagh Features in Belgium

April saw Ireland's Paddy McDonagh feature in the 1.25m international jumping competition for junior riders in Moorsele, Belgium. The rider steered his mount Ralph into the runner-up spot behind Belgian rider Nicola Philippaerts on Jeckill Du Ry in the one-round speed class. McDonagh also got into the rosettes in a 1.30m class when he slotted the same horse into fourth. That contest was also won by Belgian Nicola Philipaerts on Quincy De Rosseignies. Paddy's sister, Kate, narrowly missed out on a superb result when she finished with five faults in the 1.30m pony grand prix.

May saw Ireland's pony riders deliver a one-two victory in the opening competition of the Nations' Cup show at Moorsele, Belgium. Longford's Shane Connell took first place on Knockmartin Gold, with fellow Irish rider Richard Howley slotting Erraroey into second place. The two Irish riders then swapped places in a later two-phase class. Irish riders also delivered a one-two when Northern rider Jordan Coyle won the speed class with Frere Jacques and Galway's Jessica Burke took the runner-up spot on Bean Ailing. The absence of clear rounds in the pony Grand Prix resulted in a 10-strong battle among the four-faulters. Among them was Ireland's Shane Connell riding Murphy's Flight. The pair finished in eighth place overall. The grand prix was won by Spain's Fernando Herrero. In the Junior ranks, Co Clare rider David Blake also got among the prizes. He steered Fabienne into third place in a Table A Speed class. The competition was won by Dutch rider Doniniques Roelofsen, riding Lois-Lane.

Also in May, 22-year-old Co Kilkenny rider Ivan Dalton finished in third place in a 1.60m accumulator class at Royal Windsor. Now based in Europe, Dalton achieved the result on Corcovada. The class was won by British rider Graham Lovegrove riding Angel. Dalton had one fence down with Watch Me in the Grand Prix at La Courneuve a few weeks later. However, his good time of 84.92 was well ahead of the rest of the 33-strong field to earn him fourth place. The competition was won by France's Penelope Leprovost.

Counihan on Song at Aglish

The national season was in full flight by May and Co Kerry young rider Maura Counihan made the trek to Waterford to take in Aglish Show. The 19-year-old from Ballymacelligott began the day with a win in the 1.20m competition on Regal Clover and then jumped a double-clear round in the 1.35m Munster Greyhound Night Grand Prix. She eventually finished in fourth place behind winner Ger O'Neill and took the prize.

HSI's high-performance coach Comdt John Ledingham announced the squads for both the junior and young rider Nations' Cups to be held in Reims, France. The squads featured in several classes at the show in France but had disappointing results in the Nations' Cups. Ireland was drawn third of 10 teams to compete in the junior event where the team finished in equal eighth place. The Netherlands won the class ahead of Britain and Germany. Meanwhile, the Irish team for the young rider Nations' Cup finished in ninth place. Italy won the competition. Despite the disappointing team result, Irish riders did well in the Grand Prix. Offaly's Darragh Kenny came home in fifth place on Mullaghdrin Gold Rain, while David Simpson finished in ninth place. Kilkenny's Mark Flynn also made his mark when winning the Mini Grand Prix at the French Nations' Cup show on Highlander.

No Joy For Irish Teams at EU Championships

Ireland fielded teams for both the junior and young rider European Championships in Prague and got off to a good start in the young rider section with Anthony Condon taking fourth place with Goldex and Benedict Kuehnle coming fifth in the opening individual qualifier on Cruising's Mickey Finn. The team events also counted as the second individual qualification competition and here Ireland's young rider team finished in sixth place in the team final. Kuehnle and Fitzgibbon qualified for the individual final where the former finished eighth and the latter was 11th.

Junior Championships

In the Junior championships, 17-year-old David Blake piloted Killard Horizon into first place in a massive field of 101 riders. The Co Clare rider took the lead in the junior European Championships while two other Irish riders featured in the individual qualifier. Conor Drain had a fifth place with Shanroe Spirit, while John Higgins slotted Flaming Star into eighth.

The Irish team could fare no better than seventh of nine in the team competition which was won by Britain but Blake finished in seventh place.

RDS Championships

At Dublin Horse Show in August, the 128A Equestrian World of Maynooth Championship was a fitting finish to a wonderful Aga Khan day. Seven of the 12 ponies jumped clear and paved the way for a thrilling clock round. Amid the screams from the stands just three came home clear the second time out and it was in-form Paraic Kenny and Another Razcal who took the winner's rosette. Kildea Hero proved to be the pony of the week when Mark Murphy gave it a smashing ride to win the Equestrian World of Maynooth 138A Championship. Sophie Dalm and Cider Girl took the runner-up spot, while Bertram Allen was third on Lough Gill.

In the Equestrian World of Maynooth 148A Championship, nine made it through to the jump-off but only two managed to go clear. Sligo rider Richard Howley and Papillon successfully executed all the turns to set the target of 33.46 seconds without faults. The next and only other clear round was delivered by Kilkenny rider Vincent Byrne and Forthview Master, but his time of 35.51 was not enough to take the championship title from Howley. The final of the 148 Novice Championship saw Jordan Coyle and Rock Dee Jay taking the championship ahead of Caoimhe Kenny and Grey Ross, and Kate Brutou and Badda Bing.

Young Riders

Kilkenny rider Mark Flynn, by his own admission, did not have a good day in the first Holmestead Saddlery 1.30m young rider qualifier, but he made up for that by winning the Championship on Ballinclover Boy. Peter Moloney was just 0.5 of a second behind, and Tralee rider Sinead Kennedy took third on Lancelot. The 1.20m final was almost a repeat of the qualifier with Alexander Butler on Will Wimble and Hannah Bendon on Ushas taking the first two places, and Holly Gordan on Believe Me taking third place. The honours in the 1.10m Holmestead Saddlery young rider qualifier went to David Blake and Nazib, with Peter Moloney and Knockenpower Ginger second and Aubrey Chapman on Goodwins 007 third.

Millstreet Pony Finals

The Millstreet Pony Derbies in August drew a large gathering and generated much excitement. The 148AB was, perhaps, the best as double-clear rounds proved elusive. The seven-pony jump-off produced six four-fault rounds, but the blistering pace of Enniscrone rider Richard Howley won out on the day despite knocking the last fence on Moy Dancer. The 128AB Derby also had its share of excitement, nobody could better Co Clare rider Tom Foley's superb jump-off round on Muskerry Crusader. Tom Foley also featured in the 138AB Derby where he took sixth on Cherokee Breeze, but the day belonged to Jordan Kilkenny and Drumacan Flight. The only other double-clear round came from Laura Costello and Tyson, with Siobhán McCarthy and Double Trouble Boy in third place. In the 148BC Derby Galway's Michael Duffy proved to be unbeatable on The Genuine Article. Robert Anderson and Barry's Girl had the fastest time but came home with eight faults. Luke Campbell took the runner-up spot on Coote.

Irish Junior Eventers Win Silver Medal

Ireland's junior eventing team won the European team silver medal after the final show jumping phase at Thirlestane Castle in Scotland. Lying in eighth place after the dressage phase, the team of Alex Donohoe, Ruth Robinson, Timothy Dennehy, and Poppy De Courcy-Wheeler produced an outstanding cross-country performance and were catapulted to fourth place. The show jumping phase saw the Irish achieve the silver medal position behind winners Great Britain.

Brave Performance By Irish Eventers

In October, Ireland's riders put up a brave performance at the European Eventing Championships for young riders. Following the final show jumping phase, Camilla Speirs on Portersize Just A Jif had moved up the leaderboard to finish in ninth place, while Sam Dempsey on Teldon finished 21st.

Crawford Wins World Student Championships

In the latter part of the 2008 season, Ireland's Ben Crawford won the gold medal at the World University Championships in Algeria. The Co Antrim rider came out best in a two-horse jump-off against British rider Rosalind Canter.

Foley the Star at Owners' Show

October's Owners' Pony and Young Rider Charity Show received entries in excess of 3,100 which exceeded the previous year's record of 2,500. Twelve-year-old Tom Foley and Cherokee Breeze jumped their way into the record books at the Green Glens in Millstreet. The Co Clare rider won both the 128cm and the 138cm pony Grand Prix.

Jumping Pony Honoured

In November, Sillogue Darkie, the pony that has featured on many Irish pony show jumping teams in recent times, was selected by the Council of the Connemara Pony Breeders Society to become a member of the Connemara Pony Hall of Fame.

Irish Pony Riders Feature in Belgium

The Irish pony riders who travelled to Moorsele at the close of the 2008 season got among the prizes on a number of occasions. In the opening pony competition, Bertram Allen and Pass Auf took the winner's laurels, while later in the day Jeremy Sweetnam added a fourth place to the tally with the Irish-bred Allihies Fir Baoi.

In the Grand Prix, the honours went to Poland's Malwina Urbanska who recorded the only double-clear round of the competition. Kate McDonagh and the Irish-bred Berta's Clover was best of the Irish in fourth place. Kilkenny girl Emma O'Dwyer and Miss Ennis took eighth place overall.

Good Performances from Irish pony riders

Ireland's pony riders featured strongly at the international show at Hengelo in Holland in December. Emily Turkington and He's No Joker were unbeatable in 1.15m small tour. In the big tour 1.25m speed class on the same day, Co Cork rider George Murphy took the runner-up spot on The Freckle behind Sweden's Nicole Holmen. Then in the 1.15m-1.25m grand prix, Emily Turkington took the winner's rosette on Sambo Lino with just 0.11 of a second to spare over Germany's Laura Klaphake and Jerome. Ireland's Bertram Allen on Acapella Z was fifth while Michael Duffy and Sillogue Darkie finished in 13th place out of 56 starters.