Equisafety Trec Ireland National Championships 2013

The colourful tents, charcoal barbeques, and high spirits were in full swing at Ross House, Mount Nugent , Co.Cavan as they hosted the Equisafety Trec Ireland National Championships from July 19-21st. Horsemen and judges travelled from the UK ,Sweden, Germany and across Ireland to take part in the leg of the European Cup and the qualifiers for the British Championships. There were magic moments during the event as competitors battled it out over three phases in two days. Saturday started early with the orienteering phase with the Level 4 riders reporting to the map rooms before 9 am. Their course took them through the bog lanes near Lough Sheelin, the forestry of Mullaghmeen and the surrounding farmland. Their compass skills were tested as Traceur Orla O’Reilly set a demanding course through the deer tracks and small lanes of the forestry. And with the co-operation of local land owners, Tom Dowd, Bernard McCabe, Susan Storey, Ronan Carney and Coillte, she was able to challenge the riders at all levels. The soaring temperatures proved a factor and at each check point both horses and riders were provided with watering facilities, not something that the Irish riders usually have to worry about but hydration management proved an important part of the day. Ross House hosted a popular ‘al fresco’ dinner for the riders and judges in their courtyard, all were able to swap stories and laughs from the day’s event while enjoying a sumptuous dinner. Those that were able to summon up the energy took part in a course walk with Young Rider chef d’equip, Gwen Bastian who passed on valuable tips for gaining maximum points the following day.

It was hard to pick a favourite part of the weekend but there were broad smiles on the returning riders after the PTV phase(obstacles) on Sunday morning. The technical three kilometre course started behind the equestrian centre and wound its way through the tracks and fields of the cross country course and into Lough Sheelin with a challenging water obstacle. Traceurs Orla O’Reilly and Karen Murphy made the most of the natural features and successfully combined good long gallops with technical jumping and obstacles. Leading British Young Rider Eleanor Barnard proved to be the best and with a score of 130, she went on to win the Level 3 individual with Leinster Trec’s Celia Taylor following close behind.

Britian’s Sue Lee did enough on the second day to hold her early lead and took the L4 European Cup leg and British qualifier with Ireland’s Bambi Carroll and Marty Zee finishing strongly to gain the runner up spot and take the Grangeclare L4 cup. Jacinta Magennis won the L2 Ind on the handsome Shalamar Black Velvet with Mary Elliot Burns a close second on her coloured mare, Sioux. Amanda Marfleet and Vicki Glynn proved to be a strong pair in the Level 2’s to take top honours from Sheila Fuller and Catherine Bartlett. Sheila Fuller on her trusty steed Zaristo came away with the coveted Equest sponsored prize for the top scoring Irish rider.

Trec Ireland would like to thank Orla ‘Reilly and Karen Murphy and their families for all their work in getting this event off the ground. And to Technical Delegate’s Adrian Flynn, Winifried Bastian and event secretary Celie O’Rahilly whose expertise helped the event run smoothly. Big thanks to all the volunteers and judges who manned the check points and obstacles for the event. The sponsors Equisafety , Equest, Horse First, Antley Equestrian, Equisafety, Pat the Baker, EquestrianNeeds.com, Tackroom.ie, Fincourt Hotel, Omard Stables Leonie Sutton Equestrian Artist and photographer Alan McLaughlin of AML Optics.