Four more individual victories and a clutch of top five places distinguished the Irish performance at the international pony show in Fontainebleau recently, but the team event saw Ireland settle for third place in a Nations' Cup that featured just four teams.

France and Germany tied for first place on four faults, with France nudging ahead in a jump-off to claim the trophy, while Ireland accounted for 16 faults. The best Irish performance was the double clear round from Neil Maguire and the Irish-bred 'Cappagh Coach', while Hayley Dunne and 'Kiltormer Grey' had four faults in the first round and went clear in the second.

Shannon McKenzie's 'Dollar Girl' was the discard score on a total of 16 faults, while Co. Down's Emily Turkington recorded a total of 12 faults with 'Sambo Lino'.

Elsewhere, Tom Foley claimed the Derby prize with the Irish-bred 'Ballybrody King', and Kate McDonagh took the six year-old class on another Irish-bred pony, 'Imagine If One'. The seven year-old competition was won by yet another Irish-bred, 'Ballyowen Maybe Molly' with Kelly Allen.
Foley claimed his second victory of the day with the Irish-bred 'Attyrory Clover Lily', while Emily Turkington took the runner-up spot in the CSIOP speed class with the Irish-bred 'He's No Joker'.

West Cork riders Brian Crowley, George Murphy and Madeline Roberts-Allen, along with Johnny Nolan from Kerry competed in the Pony International Show also with great success.

Madeline Roberts-Allen was victorious in the 1m20 speed class for 7-year-old ponies on Friday with Garryndruig Gold Digger. This combination finished third in the 7 year old 1m25 Finale on Sunday.

Madeline had further success on Saturday finishing 4th in the 1m15 class for 6yr old ponies with Garryndruig Silver. Madeline riding Inshalagh Grey finished in 8th spot on Sundays CSIP 1m20 speed class.

Brian Crowley steered Brooklands Flash Dance into second place in Fridays CSIP 1m25 speed class with one of only 4 clear rounds. Kate McDonagh claimed the win on board Bertas Clover.

Crowley again on board Brooklands Flash Dance had an incredible clear round in Saturdays Derby de Fontainebleau, finishing in 2nd place with a time of 128.66 seconds.

This pony and rider combination were unlucky to pick up 4faults at the water fence in Sundays 1m30/1m35 CSIP Grand Prix. A fast time of 72.91 seconds slotted Brian on Brooklands Flash Dance into 7th place behind George Murphy in the final line up.

Crowley had further success on board Irish Night Watchman finishing 4th in the 1m20 speed class for 7 year old ponies on Saturday. This combination again qualified for Sundays jump off in the 7yr old Finale, finishing in second place.

George Murphy competed on two ponies in the CSIP Section. Murphy was on board Ashlair Lady in the 1m15 speed class on Friday and finished in 3rd place from 53 starters. His other mount The Freckle then provided the rider with a second placing on Saturday’s equivalent class.

In Sundays CSIP Grand Prix, 4 faults at the last fence kept this combination out of the jump off. However, with only 4 clear rounds, his fast time of 72.30 seconds ensured a final 6th placing in the Grand prix with Ashlair Lady.

Johnny Nolan, competing on the 6yr old Stallion Woodfield Rinrush was in the Prizewinners arena each day with a 3rd and two 5th placings from 16 starters.

Well done to all who attended the show. The pony and rider combinations were selected following two qualification days during March.

Click here to read an article and results from the Spring Ponies Finals at Cavan.

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Click here to read an article on the Pony Spring Tour.

It was a sight to behold, it had it all, the setting was perfect and the sun was shining as the Green Glens complex in Millstreet, Co. Cork, opened its gates to the showjumping public for the third time this summer, and on this occasion they welcomed the Banteer gymkhana committee to run their grand prix gymkhana.

This committee comprises of showjumping people with a vision to help develop and promote our sport, which they did with great style and panache at Sunday’s event. The lorry park was full, the entries were flowing in, and the grand prix arenas were well dressed and designed by invited international European course builders, Marinus Vos and HJ Ekkelenkamp.

The premier pony grand prix arena attracted pony riders from all over the country to jump at the final leg of this very successful league. This league in its inaugural year, showcased our pony riders as never before, offering grade A ponies top class jumping at eight premium venues.

This has introduced our pony riders to a higher standard of jumping and this has helped in their preparation for RDS qualifiers and in international participation. This initiative also raises the bar for prize money as big money purses also attracted the riders with €12,000 for the league winners, and €36,000 for the league was not to be sniffed at, and €17,500 was handed out at Banteer on Sunday.

The first class of the day was the 128A class and with a very tight leader board as only 6 points separated the top three in the league, it promised to be a spectacular finish, and this it was. 12 of the 29 starters qualified for the second and final round of this class, kindly sponsored by Pascal McCarthy of GE Healthcare. Included were Tom Foley with both of his ponies, Muskerry Crusader and Thingamajig and league leader Grace Allen with Magic Shadow.

Brian McDonagh from Loughrea, Co. Galway set the standard, going clear in 35.21 secs with Captain Nemo, but Tom Foley jumped clear on Muskerry Crusader shaving 3 seconds off McDonagh’s time. Foley’s second mount Thingamajig was next to go over the shortened course and they put in a sterling effort to go clear in 33.38. This put Tom in the comfortable position of holding the top two places with one to go.

So it was to Grace Allen with Magic Shadow and the pressure was on as to win the league Allen had to win the class. While she had a very fast time unfortunately with one fence on the ground she incurred 4 faults to finish 8th.

With this Tom Foley was crowned 128 league winner, netting him €2,200 for the honour which was presented to him by Laura Whelan of Horse Sport Ireland and Grace Allen took second place, netting her €1,100. Foley of course took first and second in the class as well.

The 138A class with a €2,000 purse was next, this one sponsored by Eclipse feeds. Bertram Allen was already crowned league winner as with 62 points going into the final leg he was uncatchable, however second and third place in this league were still to be decided with only 10 league points separating the next 4 riders.

With 9 riders into the jump off, high speed and accuracy were required to be in the money. Bertram Allen pulled a sensational double, winning both the league and the class. Barra Sweetnam on behalf of the Munster region, Allfresh Wholesale, Banteer gymkhana and the Premier Pony league was delighted to present the prizes to the winner, accompanied by Michael Crowley of Eclipse Feeds.

The final class was the 148A class, sponsored by O’Brien’s Saddlery and K&K windows. The winner of the class would take home with them, not only substantial prize money but a Prestige saddle as well.

Jessica Burke was crowned 148 Queen ever before the class started as she was uncatchable (as she held an unassailable lead) on the league table having won 4 of the 8 league classes, but could she pull off the important one, the final in Banteer. We had to wait and see.

In a distinguished field of top class international 148 pony riders this jump off was going to be one to remember. With 10 into the jump off, and every seat filled, it was standing room only as spectators watched in anticipation.

First to take on HJ Ekkelenkamp’s jump off course was Kate McDonagh riding Bertas Clover, and she set the target at 34.75.

Richard Howley was next to go with the first of his 3 mounts, Moy Dancer. Howley rode the timed round with ease as they shaved valuable seconds off McDonagh’s time and took over pole position.

Jessica Burke put in a valiant attempt, going clear in 33.29, however they were not fast enough and took third place.

So it was 1, 2 for Howley in the class and Burke took a very credible third. But the order was reversed in the league as Jessica Burke was crowned the winner, and what a way to finish a fantastic pony (jumping) career for this very talented rider, and I am sure she will be one to watch in horse circles in years to come. Speaking of which, you can catch the highlights on TG4 on 24 September.

This Sunday we head to the Ballindenisk Equestrian Park, Watergrasshill for the Cork/Kerry branch gymkhana, where the highlight on the day will be the Ballymaloe Country Relish/HSI National ladies 1.10m final. With a lot of local interest and a prize fund of €4,000, it is set to be an exciting finish to this very popular league. Glanmire rider Lindsey Daly riding Ronnoco Two Step, are league leaders and uncatchable at this late stage, but lower placings will be decided on Sunday’s results. Declarations closed for this class this evening and the start list will be posted on the Cork/Kerry website on Friday evening.

It may be back to school for a lot of our pony riders next week but they are being kept very busy in showjumping circles at the moment. Recent successes in Dublin and Millstreet will certainly pay the way for an exciting weekend at the national Pony and Young rider championships in Mullingar this weekend. Proceeds from the 2007 charity championships went to the Irish Red Cross with our local branch receiving their share. We rely on the local branch of the Irish red cross to provide first aid at our gymkhanas and shows so it is nice to see them benefit from charity events as Red Cross personnel give their time on a voluntary capacity and show jumping events could not run without their commitment and support.

We will be represented locally in all height categories at the national championships. Recent successes in the pony show jumping scene include Shane Dalton and Ellen Sweetnam in the 128 classes, as both were in the final shake up in Dublin, Millstreet, Cavan and Scotland. In fact these two riders have tasted a serious amount of success for their years, both aged only 11. Mark O Callaghan had success in the 138 class in Dublin as had Nikki Murphy in the 148 A class. George Murphy from Upton in Co. Cork is also experiencing success with his 2 novice 148 ponies as he was placed in Dublin on both days and took a very credible 3rd place in the Starfinder final at Millstreet, a class sponsored by 5 Cork Business people and the HSI to the value of 10000 which netted George 1300 in this class alone. The other 148 class in Milstreet held success for Katie Sweetnam as she was also in the ribbons.

Young Riders are also doing very well nationally as Chloe Quinlivan from Kanturk and Shane O’Reilly from Watergrasshill were both in the ribbons at Millstreet. Shane was also successful in Dublin as was Nikki Murphy, Sinead Kennedy, Ciara Desmond and Maura Counihan. So, good luck to all our riders heading to Mullingar for what hopes to be another success story for our local showjumpers.

Locally this weekend's scheduled charity show in the showgrounds Cork has been cancelled due to a bad weather forecast.