There was an air of excitement as the dawn mist lifted over the Punchestown Racecourse, competitors signed in and began to warm up, judges took their positions along the various courses and arenas. At 8.30am, the first horse left the starter to tackle the 2km course. The Chef de Piste made excellent use of natural obstacles, cross country fences and strategic placement of portable obstacles, to provide a course which challenged horse and rider schooling and focus. The Open Championship went to West Cork’s Annie O’Neill and her reliable partner Templebready Poppy with clubmate Johanna Connor and Serendipity of Orange winning the Intermediate Championship. The Novice PTV Championship was won by Leinster TREC’s Susanne O’Rourke with Apache. Champion and reserve champion at each level were presented with rugs and numnahs, the Open kindly sponsored by Ballinagappa House Stables, Intermediate sponsored by The Field Equestrian Centre and Novice sponsored by Quinn’s of Baltinglass.

After the long gallops on the PTV track, the MA (Control of Paces) Championship required focus and engagement as riders cantered and then walked the 150m corridor, with the slowest canters and fastest walks gaining the highest marks. There was no grade distinction within the MA with riders from level 1 through to level 4 pitting their skills against each other. Erin Begley’s Darcy rose to the top to secure the MA Championships for the Turas TREC group. Champion and reserve champion were presented with a rug and numnah respectively, kindly sponsored by Saoirse Saddlery.

After a lunch break, the course was set for the X-TREC Championships. X-TREC combines cross country with PTV for a fast paced challenge of jumping and accuracy.

Annie O’Neill secured the top spot on the Open track and another rosette for the West Cork haul, while the Novice went to Midlands TREC’s Katie Elwood.

Punchestown’s sand arena housed the Versatile TREC classes, Open, Novice, Intro and Junior. Versatile TREC is ridden in the same format as a dressage test and combines PTV (obstacles) with an obedience test. Both Versatile judges commented on the high standard of riding in this class, evident with scores upward of 70% in each class. Representing the North/West TREC group, Cheyenne ridden by Karina McVeigh produced an effortless test to secure the Open Championship. Leinster TREC’s Margo Monaghan and Ben won the Novice Championship while Annie O’Neill won the Intro class.

TREC Ireland wish to thank all who made this event possible, Punchestown Racecourse for the use of world class facilities. Thank you to the very generous sponsors; The Field Equestrian Centre, Tara Equestrian, Institute of Natural Medicine Ireland, Uisce Saddlery, Ballinagappa House Stables, Saoirse Saddlery and Quinn’s of Baltinglass. Volunteers are key to hosting TREC events and the army of judges and stewards assembled for the championship was a collection any sporting organisation could be very proud of.

Finally, on behalf of each of the riders thank you to the members of Leinster TREC who, as hosts of the event, spent months preparing, coordinating and organising. The proficiency of the hosts and the red carpet welcome made the TREC Ireland PTV/MA Championships 2015 an event that we will remember for many years to come.

RESULTS

PUNCHESTOWN RACECOURSE

TREC IRELAND NATIONAL PTV & MA CHAMPIONSHIPS

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11TH

Open PTV Championships - 1, Templebready Poppy (Annie O’Neill); 2, Strandhill Batman (Kirsten McCormack); 3, Garnagree Duke (Vicky McMullan); 4, Carlanstown Kid (Kayleigh McCormack); 5, Darcy (Erin Begley); 6, Johnny (Cassie O’Connell).

Intermediate PTV Championships - 1, Serendipity of Orange (Johanna Connor); 2, Cupcake (Amanda Sheridan); 3, Gladys (Jane Capener); 4, Bay Gypsy Lady (Brenda Brown Buckley); 5, Cheyenne (Karina McVeigh); 6, Coco (Yasmin Roo Joyce Nightingale).

Novice PTV Championships- 1, Apache ( Susanne O’Rourke); 2, Ben (Margo Monaghan); 3, General’s Daughter (Liz Burbage); 4, Bailey (Sara Gems); 5, Shannon (Finian Carroll); 6, Archie (Mags Crawford).

Uisce Saddlery PTV Team Championships - 1, West Cork TREC Team 1 : Templebready Poppy (Annie O’Neill, ), Serendipity Of Orange (Johanna Connor), Bailey (Sara Gems), Winston (Martha Norton);

2, Leinster TREC Black: Apache (Susanne O’Rourke), Tiko (Rosemarie Bryson), Zaristo (Sheila Fuller), Callie (Lorna O’Neill);

3, Divided between West Cork Team Two: Gladys (Jane Capener), Coco (Yasmin Roo Joyce Nightingale), Flora (Sandra Schmid), Hector (Jenni Norton) and Leinster TREC Red: Ben (Margo Monaghan), Garnagree Duke (Vicky McMullen), Haise (Marie Gallagher).

MA Championships - 1, Darcy (Erin Begley); 2, Marty Zee (Bambi Carroll); 3, Strandhill Batman (Kirsten McCormack); 4, Cheyenne (Karina McVeigh); 5, Shakespeare (Maura Walsh); 6, Johnny (Cassie O’Connell).

The Field Equestrian Centre Open PTV - 1, Sullane Lady (Mairead Moynihan); 2,

Winterdown Rebecca (Nicola Corcoran).

The Field Equestrian Centre Intermediate PTV - 1, Ballycomber Blue (Katie Elwood); 2, Grace (Shirley Squire); 3, Surprise (Paula Donohoe); 4, Ballyclough Nugget (Sheila Winters).

The Field Equestrian Centre Novice PTV - 1, Bronte (Natasha O’Rourke); 2, Winterdown Cruise (Justine Greer); 3,Dougal (Sean Heavey); 4,The Mighty Tim (Catherine Bartley); 5, Michaela (Bridget Sheeran); 5, Shanbo Harvest Dun (Aimee Heavey).

Institute of Natural Medicine Ireland Open X-TREC - 1, Templebready Poppy (Annie

O’Neill); 2, Darcy (Erin Begley); 3, Carlanstown Kid (Kayleigh McCormack); 4, Sullane Lady (Mairead Moynihan); 5, Marty Zee (Bambi Carroll); 6, Kiwi (Mayah Sammon).

Institute of Natural Medicine Ireland Novice X-TREC - 1, Ballycomber Blue (Katie Elwood); 2, Tiko (Rosemarie Bryson); 3, Apache (Susanne O’Rourke); 4, Johnny (Cassie O’Connell); 5, Shanbo Harvest Dun (Aimee Heavey); 6, Flora (Sandra Schmid).

Tara Equestrian Open Versatile TREC – 1, Cheyenne (Karina McVeigh); 2, Marty Zee (Bambi Carroll); 3, Strandhill Batman (Kirsten McCormack); 4, Zaristo (Sheila Fuller); 5, Ross ML (Caroline Aragane); 6, Jodi (Bidina McCabe).

Tara Equestrian Novice Versatile TREC - 1, Ben (Margo Monaghan); 2, Bailey (Sara Gems); 3, Good Girl Pumpkin (Megan McAvoy); 4, Frere Jacque (Margaret Lynch); 5, Winterdown Cruise (Justine Greer); 6, The Mighty Tim (Catherine Bartley).

Tara Equestrian Intro Versatile TREC - 1, Templebready Poppy (Annie O’Neill); 2, Carlanstown Kid (Kayleigh McCormack); 3, Frere Jacque (Margaret Lynch); 4, Krusty (Kayleigh McCormack); Bailey (Sara Gems); 6, Molly (Penny Kelly).