85cm winners L-R
1st & 2nd Alex Finney – Master Roan
3rd Albert Lowry – Oh Dear
4th Aoife O’Farrell – Abigail’s Dream
5th Caira Malcomson – Tyrone Molly

Iveagh Branch of the Pony Club held their annual Spring Derby on Easter Tuesday, generously sponsored by Kehoe Kars of Newry. Following the wet weather of the previous week there was some concern regarding whether the ground would be dry and firm enough. However after a couple of dry days, Easter Tuesday arrived with lovely warm and sunny weather with good going underfoot.

There was a great turn out, with all the riders keen to tackle the challenging derby course, designed and built by Steven and Trevor Smith. Obstacles included the ever challenging devil’s dyke and bank.

70 cm winners L-R
1st Rory Osborne – Socky
2nd Emma Wright – Flash Pony
3rd Ella McCallister – Max
4th Finn Osborne – Double Daz
5th Daniel Moore – Flash
6th Julie Simpson – Annie’s Treasure

Thanks go to Dora Beacom for her commentary and scoring, to all the volunteers including fence judges, starter, arena party, catering, coursing building and those who helped in any way. Special thanks to our sponsor Mr John Kehoe of Kehoe Kars, whose four children are all active members of The Iveagh Branch, thanks also to Annie Chambers for organising the event.

The first class (85cm) saw 8 clear first rounds, followed by an exciting jump off which included one of the youngest riders Alex Finney, who finished 1st and 2nd on her two ponies, and  the eldest competitor Albert Lowry, who finished 3rd, on his faithful Oh Dear.

The Metre Class proved more difficult for those involved with no-one finishing the first round faultless. This meant the six combinations on 4 faults went through to a jump off, in which Steven Smith finished 1st and 2nd with the only two clear rounds on Eric and Charlie.

1.0M Prize winners L-R
1st & 2nd Stephen Smith – Eric
3rd Gary Hylands – Picanto
4th Conail Mcgrath – Easy Jet
6th Tabytha Bonar – Bella Bambino
5th Herbie Purce – Seapatrick Hamish

The day ended with a 70 cm class, again making all the riders work hard and with just three clear after the first round. Rory Osborne riding Socky had the fastest jump- off time to win the class.

Full results:

85cm

1st Alex Finney – Master Roan

2nd Alex Finney – Some Journey

3rd Albert Lowry – Oh Dear

4th Aoife O’Farrell – Abigail’s Dream

5th Caira Malcomson – Tyrone Molly

6th Ellie McElroy – Monochrome Boy

1m

1st Steven Smith – Eric

2nd Steven Smith – Charlie

3rd Gary Hylands – Picanto

4th Conail Mcgrath – Easy Jet

5th Herbie Purce – Seapatrick Hamish

6th Tabytha Bonar – Bella Bambino

70 cm

1st Rory Osborne – Socky

2nd Emma Wright – Flash Pony

3rd Ella McCallister – Max

4th Finn Osborne – Double Daz

5th Daniel Moore – Flash

6th Julie Simpson – Annie’s Treasure

Ravensdale Derby Bank

Ravensdale Derby Bank and Rail

Ravensdale Lodge Equestrian & Event Centre are to hold their annual Summer Derby Show on Sunday 6th July from 9am. This exciting SJI registered horse show has become a firm favourite in the event calendar and has grown in popularity year on year.  The show will feature five regular classes from 90cm up to 1.30m as well as the two feature Derby classes which will be set at 1.15m & 1.25m. The two Derby classes will feature show jumps, Derby fences, Derby wall & the superb purpose built Derby bank at the centre. All are welcome and anyone can jump on a temporary ticket if not registered through SJI. If this year’s renewal is anything like last year’s show then an exciting day of competition is in store for everyone. Trevor Breen’s fantastic success in Sunday’s Hickstead Derby should also help put the urge on already keen combinations!