The inaugural All Ireland Young Rider Team Championships lifted off with a major bang at the Cavan International Horse Show last Saturday where 20 teams lines out for their Provinces.
Set up by the ShowjumpingIreland Young Rider committee earlier this year, there was fierce competition for places on each of the teams in the three categories and the competition on the day reflected what was envisaged at the time of its inception in February. Seen to be a stepping stone towards future team participation, riders were competing for their Province which provided a great sense of pride to those in attendance. The winning prize of a day’s training with Cian O’Connor gave further incentive to Provincial riders as they went to battle.
Kicking off with the 1.10m Team Championship where eight teams took to the arena, two teams from each region. The strength of Show Jumping in the Connaught region was evident all day with the riders from the West proving very tough to beat. Starting out the day the Connaught Blue team of Jessica Lee, Sven Hadley, Judith Faherty and Shauna Brennan finished the first round a team total of zero along with Munster Green, the eventual winners.
Munster’s team of Madaline Roberts Allen, Noelle Barry, Jack Owens and Lisa Hitchmough also provided a fault free first round to give the two teams a slight edge going into the final round. However, this was only instance where Connaught were to be outdone as they finished the second round on a team total of four faults. It was Munster who were not to be denied as they returned victorious providing a second faultless round to take the Championship. Connaught Blue survived to take second with four faults just ahead of the Leinster Red team which comprised of Giusseppi Orlandi, Sean Vard, Simone Dowling and Maeve Bailey.
The 1.20m started off the Connaught domination that was to stay for the remainder of the day. The Connaught Black team of Downey Brogan, Rachael Creaven, Sven Hadley and Eric Glynn provided onlookers with an immaculate first round finishing on a team total score of zero ahead of the two Ulster teams, White and Orange, who completed with 4 faults and 11 faults respectively.
The closing round provided the same result as Connaught ran out as convincing winners recording just five faults to finish out the class on top. Ulster White slotted into second with a team total of eight faults from Alison Irwin, Gareth McCombe, Amanda Hylands and Frank Curran. While the second Ulster team, Ulster Orange took third with Aisling Doherty, Sarah Jane Johnston, Thomas Dooley and Kevin Thornton taking the rosettes home.
The day finished out with another breathtaking display from the Connaught Young Riders in the 1.30m Championship. The team of Eric Glynn, Johnathan McDonnell, Cian Melia and Michael Duffy impressed the 
Senior Chef D’Equip Robert Splaine as he watched them trounce the field. Following a thrilling first round showing, Connaught needed a disastrous second round to be denied however, the strength of the four riders was evident as they coasted home easy winners. All four riders were fault free in the second round.
Leinster proved good enough for second, however, it was merely a fight for the minor placings as they finished on a team total of 16 faults. Seamus McSorley, James Brennan, Lucy Murphy and Gerard Clarke were forced to fight for second following the thrilling Connaught display. The Ulster team of Conor Drain, Alison Irwin, Aoife Dooley and Aisling Doherty took third finishing on 24 faults. While Eimear Kelly, Darragh McCarthy, Orla Kelly and Hannah Bendon from Munster took the final place in the closing competition.
Following the competition ShowjumpingIreland Young Rider Chairman Taylor Vard commented: ‘’This All Ireland Young Rider Team Championships was very successful and I think may have taken some people by surprise. There was a lot of compliments on the day and this is a great stepping stone for riders on team events for the future. Next year is set to be even bigger and better now that everyone is aware of it.’’
So the first All Ireland Young Rider Team Championship proved to be a major success with the 20 teams from around the country providing spectators with some fantastic competition throughout the day. The winners now travel to Karlswood Stables where they will enjoy a day’s training from none other than Cian O’Connor. A just reward for very worthy winners.