Millstreet stallion class

A traditional Irish Stallion Derby will be held at the Millstreet Spring Tour 2015. It will be a 1.15m derby class with a 1.50m joker.

There will also be a presentation class for traditional stallions of all ages with the option of loose jumping, ridden performance or in hand, depending on the owner’s preference. Stallions for this class must come from black type families or have a past performance record. Thoroughbred stallions are welcome but must be under saddle or prepared to loose jump a 1. 40m oxer.

RDS Elections

THE Royal Dublin Society (RDS) general meeting took place last Thursday and saw two vacancies filled on the equestrian standing committee. Waterford native Comdt John Ledingham was re-elected for a second term. A member of five winning Aga Khan teams, Ledingham won the puissance at the RDS on four occasions in a glittering career that also saw him compete at the Olympics.

An equestrian coach, he has been chef d’equipe of a number of gold medal winning teams and has just received the Horse Sport Ireland Coach of the Year award. Also elected was Mayo’s Tiernan Gill. He has been a RDS competitor for almost a quarter of a century and has been involved to a high level in many different aspects of the equestrian sphere. He has also claimed the supreme champion young horse crown at the RDS on a number of occasions.

WBFSH breeder awards

The World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) Rolex Award 2015, for the breeder of the year in each of the three Olympic disciplines, was presented at the five-star Rolex show in Geneva last Saturday.

The WBFSH Rolex Award is a yearly prize, which recognises the breeder of the best horses in each discipline: Show Jumping, Dressage and Eventing. The first prize was awarded in 1992 and in 2015, the best breeders were announced as:

Dressage: Joop and Maartje Hanse, breeders of Valegro (KWPN), Negro – Maifleur x Gershwin.

Jumping: Willy Taets, breeder of Hello Sanctos (sBs), Quasimodo vd Molendreef – Nasia vd Gravenhof x Nabab de Rêve.

Eventing: Dr Rolf Lück, breeder of Horseware Hale Bob (Oldbg), Helikon xx – Goldige x Noble Champion.