Hosted by the Connaught Region, the TRI Equestrian National Amateur Championships 2023 took place at Duffy’s Equestrian Centre last weekend, the 15th/16th July. Despite the inclement weather conditions on Friday, which continued for much of Saturday, riders from all over the Country made the journey and took on the tests set by course builder Mark Duffy over the two days, all hoping to be crowned ‘Champion’, and take home a share of prizes in the €7,500 prize pot.
The first class of the weekend was the Welcome stakes with 47 combinations across three sections, Sports Member, A and AA, taking part. Galway riders swept the board, with the win in all three sections being claimed by local riders. Sports Member Rachel Burke with Ballynagran Heart and Soul, A Section Colm Kelly with Sparkling Diamond and AA Section Aisling Tonery with Ti Amo Darcy.
This was the first of two tests that would decide the Sports Member Champion, so a win for Rachel Burke gave her the advantage going into Sunday’s decider. The Mini Grand Prix was a hotly contested class, 52 combinations became 22 for the jump off with a very speedy jump off. It was a close call in the A Section with Stephanie Forde and Merlin’s Vixen narrowly taking the win over Karen Boylan and Pinegrove Aro by just .08 of a second. In the AA section the lead changed several times amongst the 18 riders, but it was the last rider into the ring, Co Meath’s Kevin O’Reilly who snatched victory with his own Furore S. The Mini Grand Prix was also the final leg of the Connaught Region Beyond Beauty Laser & Skincare Amateur League and the title of Connaught Region Winner went to James Cunningham and MayC. Tara Brandon claimed both second and third in the league with her two mounts, Ice Cream VDT and Oilean Dunlop. Tara Brandon was also presented with the leading lady rider prize for the league, also sponsored by Karen Broderick of Beyond Beauty. The final class of Day one, the Martin Flesk Heating & Plumbing Derby, was won A rider Stephanie Forde, giving her a strong lead in the race for the title of A Champion going into Sundays contest. Sunday, day 2 of the Championships was a brighter day and all the action from day 2 was livestreamed on SJI Live. The Packhorse Welcome Stakes was the decider for the Sports Member Champion. A win for Vicky Collins with her own Intrepreter in this section left herself and Rachel Burke Neck and Neck on points. Joint Sports Member Champions were crowned for 2023, Vicky Collins and Rachel Burke. Local Rider Ken with his own Yeats County took victory in the A section of the Packhorse Welcome Stakes while Marita Byrne from Co. Clare with Don Brook was the winner of the AA section. In the afternoon the Plusvital Power & Speed presented a two-phase test for riders. It was an exciting contest in which Co. Sligo’s Niall Hughes, a rider who recently qualified for the RDS on his other mount, took the win with CES Seamanchip. Limerick based Martha Naughton with Simbolise was the winner of the AA section. A 3rd place finish for Stephanie Forde and Merlin’s Vixen in the A section sealed the A Championship for her as she could not be caught on points. The final class of the weekend, the Honeycomb Solutions Grand Prix, also part of the Orchard Equestrian/ NAPS league was the feature class of the day and would also decide the outcome of the AA Championship contest. Clever coursebuilding by Mark Duffy whittled the field of 41 to 13 combinations for the Jump of, 2nd to go Chloe Goggins with the John Goggins owned Kinsborough Jasper set the standard, a double clear in 46.96. Despite some fast times, the challengers following failed to keep the poles in the cups and Chloe Goggins topped the A section. In the AA section a double clear, posted by Aideen Kirby and the Honeycomb solutions owned Derg Masterpiece would prove to be an invaluable round, claiming both victory in the AA section and the Championship title. The leading Connaught region rider at the TRI National Amateur Championships was Stephanie Forde, this prize was kindly sponsored by Karen Broderick of Beyond Beauty Laser & Skin Care. The Connaught Region Amateur Committee, Máire Cosgrove, Karen Boylan, Paul Tarpey and Aisling Donoghue would like to thank everyone who supported the show, Mark and the team at Duffys Equestrian Centre and particularly the sponsors. Congratulations also to all the prize-winners and the Champions from the weekend.
Report Provide by Aisling O' Donoghue