Gransha Equestrian Centre Jumps Into The New Year
Cross pole class left to right Double clears Curtis McCartney on Barley Sugar, Ellen Douglas on Jamie, Lauren Taylor on Charlie, Jack Belton-McGlennon on Poppet, Katie Smith on Rusty
Gransha’s 2015 schedule of events kicked off this weekend with the continuation of the Equestrian Centre’s Winter Horse and Pony Show Jumping League sponsored by Doggarts of Newtownards. Saturday the 3rd January saw the ponies competing in the fifth round of the league to a course built by Simon Jackson.
A great turn out ensured that the competitive spirit was alive and well, with a large number of clear rounds proving that the festive period did not put a dent in the ponies’ training.
70-80cm Double clears Cerys Howell Alfie, Hannah Thompson Sandy, Phoebe Beaumont Rocha, Caitlin McKechnie Fat Boy, Ashleigh Saunderson Stuart Little
The first class of the day over cross poles saw red rosettes go to Lauren Taylor on Charlie, Curtis McCartney on Barley Sugar, Ellen Douglas riding Jamie and Katie Smith on her pony Rusty.
The 50cm-60cm class proved to be the most popular of the day, with a whopping ten double clears from riders including Lauren Belton-McGlennon on Poppet, Robbie McCartney on Barley Sugar, Cassie Pollock on Alvin, and Hannah Morrow riding Harry.
60-70cm double clears Lyndsay McCartney Logans Leap, Gail Smyth, Bruno
Hannah went on the win the 60cm speed round with a fantastic time of 34.2 seconds, followed closely by Scarlet Thompson in second place on her pony Poppy.
The 60cm-70cm class saw Zara Wood and Caitlin McClelland achieve their second double clears of the day on Ballymac Girl and Taste the Rainbow. Fellow winners were Emma Irwin on Daisy and Luke Dunlop riding Spot. Ciara Gilroy came second on Max.
There were double clears all round in the 70cm-80cm class, which included Pheobe Beamont on Rocha, Cerys Howell on Alfie and Hannah Thompson riding Promise and Sandy. The 80cm speed round went to fellow clear rounder Ashleigh Saunderson, who rode Stuart Little to a brisk time of 29.5 seconds. Caitlin McKechnie chased her to second place on Fat Boy with a time of 32.6 seconds.
80-90cm double clears Fiona McJury Touch O Cat
First prize in the 80cm-90cm class went to Niamh Martin on Mix ‘n’ Match, Katie McKee on Sam, and Cerys Howell on Lulu. The 90cm speed round also went to Cerys who rode Captain Morgan to a time of 32.6 seconds.
Anna Brown was the only competitor in the 90cm-1m class to go double clear. Seconds went to Lucy Savage on Maggie, Cerys Howell on Lulu and Niamh Martin on Mix ‘n’ Match. Cerys went on to win the final class of the day on Murphy over 1m-1.10m.
Sunday 4th January saw the continuation of the Horse League which is exclusively sponsored by Doggarts of Newtownards Funeral Directors & Memorial Masons. Andrew Neale of Doggarts was on hand to distribute the well-deserved prizes.
Simon Jackson reconfigured the course for Sunday’s competitors. Double clears in the opening 60cm-70cm class went to Gail Smyth on Bruno and Lynsey McCartney on Logans Leep. Second prizes went to Leanne Beattie on Dott, Diane McCully on Irish Echo, Alana Clegg on Manny and Gail McKie riding Dave the Cob.
Red rosettes in the 70cm-80cm class went to Sharon Lapan and her horse Tori, along with Amy Lewers who rode both Rockrimmon Miss Penelope and Rockrimmon Willow. Amanda Jackson took second place on Tara, and Jessica Whitney came in third on Hector.
90cm-1m double clears Rhonda McFadden stuart Little, Nicola McClelland, Supreme Heights, Caitlin MCclelland, Oscar, Neil Marsh Charlie
First prize in the 80cm-90cm class went to Fiona McJury and her horse Touch ‘o’ Cat, followed by Amanda Jackson and Kirsty Chambers riding Apollo and George. Joint third went to Laura Buckley on Mr T, Amy Levers on Calisto, Alex Carser riding Harley and Ian Jones on his horse Ebony.
The 90cm speed round was well contested, with Caitlin Stuart achieving first place by a good three seconds on Oscar. Diane McCully rode Minor View Major Tom to second place, and Gemma Crooks came a close third.
After her success in the speed round, Caitlin went on the get a double clear in the 90cm-1m class, along with Neill Marsh on Charlie, Nicola McClelland on Supreme Heights, and Rhonda McFadden piloting Bill Little. The final class of the day went to Jessica Perry who rode Calico Lass over 1m jumps.
The penultimate round of the Winter Horse and Pony Show Jumping League sponsored by Doggarts of Newtownards takes place on Saturday 7th February for ponies and Sunday 8th February for horses.
For those wishing to compete this weekend, Gransha will be hosting the fifth round of the Winter Working Hunter League, with horses competing on Saturday 10th January, and ponies on Sunday 11th.
Category: News, Results, Show Jumping
