AIRC West Round Up
Thrilling finale to North West League 2013
By Libby CarltonInitial reports of Sunday’s North West League final paint a picture of heart stopping entertainment and a great spread of success across all the clubs. With double points up for grabs on the day, nerves were stretched to their limits and the tension was high.
Judge and course builder Tony Ennis set a technically challenging course which sorted out the men from the boys at every level. Reports of the first half of the day are not yet in but the description of the competition at intermediate level and above is hair raising. No fewer than eight riders overcame Tony’s challenge to make it into the Intermediate jump-off. Tirconaill pulled off a huge victory with Charlie Vial riding a cracking round to finish in top spot. Best of Letterkenny’s finishers were the ever-consistent Anne Chambers in fourth and Leo in sixth.
Last year the combined Advanced Intermediate & Open class was sparsely contended and the finishing order on any given day was almost predictable. This year, with some talented riders from Inishowen and Rosann pushing up the numbers, the class has become truly competitive and exciting. Sunday’s final was nothing short of breathtaking. Five riders made it through to the final. Patricia Warren had to have been the unluckiest rider of the day when her immaculate round was deemed imperfect after a technical error with her approach to the start line. Damien, league leader coming into the show, drew the
unenviable short straw and started first. His partnership with Armstrong has given us some of our finest club moments over the years and the pair lived up to their reputation by going clear in 32.59, practically three seconds faster than Charlie’s winning ride in the Intermediate class over the same course at 90cm. The time looked unbeatable as rider after rider failed to match it. Claire Wylie was the fifth and final rider to take up the challenge and the best was saved until last. She rode a textbook round in an incredible 32.1 seconds to deny Damien the red rosette, but the league title was undeniably his.
There was no time for relaxing as Tony ploughed straight into the Intermediate & above Accumulator. In another cracking competition it was our own Keary Smith who topped the leader board on Arthur with a smashing clear round in a sharp time. His closest rival was his partner Anne who looked sure to take the spoils with a faster round but Molly left one pole on the ground to ensure that Keary claimed bragging rights for the journey home.
What a great league! Congratulations to all competitors and particularly to the league winners whose consistent performances over all five legs illustrate the beauty of this annual competition. The spoils were fairly spread across the clubs with Inishowen taking the Crosspoles, the Gaeltachts claiming the Welcome Stakes [Eamonn McGee], Primary [Liz Potter] and Advanced Primary [Lawrence Smyth], and Letterkenny landing the Intermediate [Leo Porter] and combined Advanced Intermediate & Open [Damien Gallagher].
Thanks to everybody who helped make the 2013 North West League such a great success. It’s a great tribute to the cooperative spirit of the five Donegal clubs and bodes well for
future collaborations. Our next joint event will be the North West Team Show Jumping and Dressage Challenges at Eglinton on Sunday 28 April. Roll on the big day!
West Clubs Derby League Final Report
by Cait GoaleyWith the temperatures last Sunday and the extra chill factor of the cutting East wind,
any rider would have been forgiven for turning over in the cot and hitting the snooze button.
Instead, some rising as early as 6am, braved the cold and travelled to Duffy's Equestrian Centre in Claregalway where Mark Duffy presented yet another new challenging track of derby fences.
Almost all riders took the opportunity presenting their horses to the new fence layout in the schooling round and the competition proper started with 4 riders in the primary section. Carol Gaffney of South Roscommon took first place on the day and her win on the 2nd leg afforded her the points to win the primary title in the overall league.
Hot on her heels was Emma Sullivan (CastleCarraig) who claimed both 2nd place on the day and in the league. Serverine Ray (Tynagh) and Fiona Fenton (South Roscommon) made their debuts at the league to receive 3rd and 4th palings respectively.
The Advanced Primary section was hotly contended throughout the league with most riders in this section attending all three shows. The league title went to Christine Mc
Williams (Corrib). Aoife Hegarty (CastleCarraig) and Karen Coffey (Corrib) had to settle for joint 2nd with Cait Goaley and Maria Tierney (Springmount) taking 4th and 5th respectively and Colm Kelly (Corrib) taking 6th.
The Intermediate jump-off was an exciting one with the Burke mother and daughter team (Benbulben) taking 1st and 3rd on the day. This win cemented Rachel Burke’s chance of taking 1st place in the league overall with Norman Tierney (Springmount) taking 2nd after only just entering the world of jump-off’s. Kevin Clougher (Dalysgrove) collected the rosette for 3rd place while John McArdle (Tynagh) and Lucy Baker (CastleCarraig) shared 4th place. Mum Anna Burke (Benbulben) joined her daughter in the rankings to take 6th place.
The Advanced Intermediate section had a strong Corrib attendance throughout the league which helped them gather the points necessary to win the perpetual cup for the highest place cup. Thomas Daniels (Tynagh) and Therese Dixon (Corrib) settled for joint 1st in the league overall. Sharon Mc Gowan (Benbulben) crossed the league finish line in 3rd while 2 of the youngest riders in the grade, Sarah Gaughan (Corrib) and Niamh Hegarty (CastleCarraig) agreed on joint 4th place. Ronan Fancis’ win on the second leg afforded him the 6th placing in the overall league.
Lizzie Naughton (RoundTower) faced a new challenger to the Open league title when Riona Finn left dust behind her on the driveway into Duffy’s just in time to get her entry in and warm up. Her efforts however while knocking 2 seconds off the clock in comparison to Lizzie’s time in the jump-off incurred a 4 fault penalty at fence 8. Lizzie left with 1st place overall and Riona didn’t go home empty handed either.
All-in-all, a well attended league organized jointly by CastleCarraig, Corrib, Springmount, Tonabrockey. Maybe the way to go in the future for small clubs sharing the workload, the risk but in successful leagues – the benefit.
