Cadogan family champions

Lynn Cadogan and her daughter Georgia have been proving that equestrian talent runs in the family!

Georgia and her Connemara pony Sapphire recently won the trailblazers preliminary championships at the Dressage Ireland national championships in Barnadown Co. Wexford. Georgia, who took to dressage over the past two years has trained her pony from scratch and also took fourth place in the novice championships. Coached by Lorna O’Hare, Georgia looks forwards now to transitioning to junior classes and aiming for qualification for the 2023 Winter Finals.

Lynn is a keen showjumper with her gelding Joe. A self confessed nervous rider when she first joined Dunbyrne Stud Lynn found her wings and has enjoyed showjumping at 70 and 80cm for the past two years. Lynn’s goal for years has been to jump 90cm. This weekend at a riding club competiton in Coilog in some very challenging weather Lynn achieved this goal. After placing fourth in the 80cm class, Lynn had a fabulous clear round in the 90cm class too. Lynn is looking forwards now to enjoying Joe through the rest of the West Leinster league.

We love helping clients to set and achieve SMART goals. We are delighted to see the progress and achievements that Lynn and Georgia have achieved

Dunbyrne Dressage Dynamos!

This Spring has seen a hive of activity at Dunbyrne Equestrian livery yard and Dunbyrne Riding Club.

Our liveries and riding club members have been busy taking part in Dressage Ireland and AIRC competitions across all levels.

We love seeing our riders progressing through the levels from their first tests to riding at National Championships. We would like to share a celebrate some of our dressage milestones this year.

Myriam & Beau - from showjumpers to dressage super stars.

Myriam and Beau joined our yard as showjumpers. This is hard to believe now that they are known as our resident dressage unicorns! Myriams transition to dressage is a lovely example of how an ex racehorse can go on to thrive in a new role. From starting dressage last year at riding club this pair have gone from strength to strength through dedication and training. They were second in the Dressage Ireland National Winter finals and have just had a great weekend where they won their Dressage Ireland novice class and just found out that they have won the West Leinster Riding Club regions spring dressage league!

Georgia and Sapphire

Georgia and Sapphire attempted their first dressage test last year for an online competition. Sapphire had never done a test in her life and the goal was to stay in the arena! There were emotions and hard work to finish the test which scored sub 60% but which started them on their way.

Through sheer hard work, practice and systematic training Georgia has trained her pony to be a national champion. At the National Winter finals Georgia and Sapphire won their prelim trailblazer championship and took second in the novice. This is a huge achievement in just a year with much more to come. Most recently Georgia’s sister Grace rode in her first ever show at Dressage Ireland winning her intro class on an incredible 79% talent must run in the family!

Blanaid & Flame

Recently taken to the Dressage sphere Blanaid and Flame had enjoyed competing but struggles with moments of tension and a lack of accuracy affecting scores. Before their last show they under went a series of training sessions with one of our onsite coaches which included coaching on and offsite and competition warm up. They managed a much higher personal best score of over 71% and took third place their highest placing to date.

Lorna & Sammy

It’s hard to believe that Sammy was once a tearaway cob bought from a dealer and unsuitable for several roles! Over the years he has proven himself as a true all rounder. Sammy recently won the elementary and medium leagues at Leinster Dressage and placed in the medium championships at the Dressage Ireland WInter Finals. Yet another example of how horses can successfully change career.

We believe in a basic and consistent routine that horses thrive on.

We believe in systematic training using the FEI scales of training.

We are Dunbyrne Equestrian.

Would you like to join us? We have livery available. http://dunbyrneequestrian.ie/livery

Dunbyrne Dressage Divas

Our liveries had another busy weekend working between the dressage boards.

Myriam and Beau headed to Coilog to take part in the Killcarrick riding club show. They took part in the novice class and earned 3rd place - we think they may have caught the dressage bug now.

Laura and Lady headed to Redhills for the Dressage Ireland show and had brilliant results taking first and second in the prelim classes. This has also qualified them for the national championships!

Emma and Lorna also headed to Dressage Ireland. Lorna and Sammy won their novice classes with Emma and Ruben taking fourth place in the novice class.

Sive travelled to Ballindennisk for her pony club event taking fifth place with Ollie and achieving her goal of qualifying for the Irish Pony Club national championships.

We have full livery available. Our yard is home to several BHS qualified coaches who work with clients to achieve their goals in all disciplines. Email dunbyrnestud@gmail.com to arrange a yard visit.

Out and about with #teamdunbyrnestud

Our #teamdunbyrnestud members have had a busy few weeks enjoying various activities

Four riders took on the eventing championships at Killossery at the end of June. Huge congratulations to Sophie O Grady and Frisco Lad (aka Leo) who took second place in their class finishing on their dressage score!

Last weekend Roisin, Eileen, Laura and Caoimhe headed to Coilog for SJi and had some lovely clear rounds between them.

Sive had Ollie at pony club camp in Coilog last week and they placed second in their showjumping class!

We had squad training in Coilog last week also where six riders worked on their course jumping technique.

Lorna and Sammy headed to Dressage Ireland and earned two qualifying scores for the championships

Its lovely seeing everyone out and about enjoying their animals and the good weather. Hopefully lots of summer adventures to come.

March of many Disciplines

After the success of our show last week, this weekend proved also to be busy for our riders. Best of all the were able to enjoy it without wind and rain!

Laura Kavanagh and Aoife Harrington travelled to Annaharvey to take part in the hunter trials with their ponies Bobby and Milkway. They had great fun enjoying their ponies in the sun and Aoife now has the cross country bug and is looking forward to more.

Emma, Rebecca and Lorna travelled to Killossery to take part in Dressage Ireland. Emma and Ruben and Rebecca and Honey took part in the preliminary class. Emma and Ruben are working hard on developing as a team together with some great marks showing potential. It is hard to believe that Rebecca, a full time BHS student with Dunbyrne, and her horse Honey have competed in just three dressage shows ever! Their partnership shone through this weekend as they earned impressive scores of 67% and 69% taking home fifth and second place.

Lorna and Sammy (DBS Second Chance) competed in the elementary classes. They had a great day taking home first and third place in their classes.

We are always delighted to see our riders out enjoying their sport and look forward to see what the next few weeks bring.

No Slacking November

Forget no stirrups November - what we have got here is no slacking November! The weather has turned, leaves are falling, the evenings are dark and yet we have been so impressed by the dedication of our clients to continue to work hard with their horses and improve.

Halloween Pony Camp

We had our Halloween Camp from the 30th October to the 2nd November. This was our biggest camp ever with over 30 attendees! Thank you to our instructors - Tara, Rebecca, Samantha, Mary and our team for making it the success that it was.

Pony Club Halloween Show

On Friday the 2nd November a group of DBS Tail Blazers went to Coilog with Lorna for the Newcastle Lyons Pony Club Halloween Show. This group of riders really excelled on the day and did Dunbyrne Proud! Zara, Caoimhe, Sive, Sinead and Ella gave it socks in the jump off against the clock earning well deserved rosettes. it was Caoimhe’s first ever pony club show and her pony Judy was on flying form. Zara and Ella were on new mounts and are on the way to growing successful partnerships with them. Laura and Bobby took on the fences in the biggest class with great confidence. Thank you to Newcastle Lyons for a great show.

Riding Club Autumn league success

Our riding club members have been knocking it out of the park in terms of results lately and have turned into a real group of show jumpers and dressage divas. We were delighted to see how well our club was represented in the final results of both the Dressage and Showjumping West Leinster Autumn leagues.

• Michelle Davitt, second place in the primary showjumping league

• Cailey bergin sixth place in the primary showjumping league

• Tori Cummins Kennedy sixth place in the advanced primary league

• Susanne Walsh second place in the primary dressage league

• Deirdre Doyle sixth in the primary dressage league

• Mary Wade winner of the intermediate dressage league

• Miia Pekkala fifth place advanced intermediate dressage league

• Lorna O’Hare winner open dressage league.

Well done everyone! Great to see the hard work paying off. Well done also to Emma Downey second in the open league, Emma trains with Ross O’Hare and has put huge efforts into her training this year.

We look forward to seeing their riders collect their prizes at the Regional awards night later on in the month. We have sponsored a lesson with Ross and lesson with Lorna at Dunbyrne as prizes for the raffle on the night and Lorna (Equestrian Reality) will present an prize sponsored by Clippers Ireland to the best dressed human on the night

Dressage Ireland success

Orla Harrington and her four year old Othello set out to compete this Autumn with the goal of qualifying for the Dressage Ireland Winter Finals at Cavan in April. In just two shows, one of which was in some pretty horrific weather conditions this pair nailed it and have achieved their qualifying scores to earn them a place in the preliminary finals. They will work now towards Novice over the winter training with Ross - what a brilliant start to Othellos dressage career.

Grid Work Sessions

Ross our BHSI has started running grid work sessions at 2pm on a Saturday. These sessions use grids to help riders to gain confidence in their show jumping and progress over height. Starting at 80cm and working upwards during the hour these grid work sessions are open to our liveries, our riding club members and also to anyone who wishes to travel to us to take part. Just contact us at dunbyrnestud@gmail.com to get involved!

Dunbyrne Dressage Divas!

It was a very sparkling white affair on Sunday as several of our riders competed at Dressage Ireland at Redhills. The competition season is in full swing at the moment and we were delighted to see our riders heading off looking well. 

Sisters Aoife and Caitlin Harrington had a very early start with Aoife entering at A at 8.18am! Aoife took on the challenge of riding four tests - two each on Cosmic and Killelton Starlight. It was a very very tight turnaround of horses in the novice class with just six minutes between times but Aoife kept her cool under pressure. Aoife won both her preliminary and novice Trailblazer classes on board Killelton Starlight, a fantastic result for their first outing as a partnership. She also took sixth in the prelim and second in the novice trailblazers with Cosmic. Aoife is delighted to have achieved qualification for the preliminary trailblazers at the National Championships in September nice and early in the season.

Caitlin Harrington competed with her chestnut pony Nightlight taking first place in the unregistered preliminary. Big sister Orla Harrington was due a very big thank you having taken on the role of groom for both her sisters as well as for Lorna on the day. 

Keen eventer Ellen Merrins traded studs for sparkles on Sunday to compete her gelding Sillan Ludene in the preliminary classes. The pair had a fantastic Dressage Ireland Debut taking second and third place in their classes with impressive scores. 

Lorna competed with DBS Second Chance at what was their first Dressage Ireland competition of the season. They took third place in their novice class and second place at Elementary level in their second class. Most importantly the pair earned their first two qualifiying scores towards the National Championships. 

Michelle Davitt meanwhile competed in the penultimate leg of the Linda Moore Riding Club Showjumping league at Coilog on board Zono. They placed third in the primary class giving them the lead in the league to date, which they are keen to hold on to heading into the final this weekend. 

We are delighted to see all the training paying off for these riders. Our riders are on livery and train at Dunbyrne Stud with our BHS / HSI coaches Ross, Lorna and Rory O'Hare. If you are working towards competing at pony club, riding club or Dressage Ireland please get in touch to find out how we can help you to achieve your goals. 

Making A Show Of Ourselves

It's mid April and it has been another busy week at Dunbyrne. On Friday the 13th our team took part in a local table quiz held in aid of My Lovely Horse Rescue. Our team, the DBS Bar Flies (Stine, Tori, Miia and Lorna) came second. We had sponsored some prizes for the raffle in aid of this good cause so two lucky raffle winners won a voucher for a private lesson with Ross and Lorna. 

On Saturday a group of our DBS Tail Blazers enjoyed pony club cross country training at The Field Equestrian in Ballyadams. Zara, Hannah, Mia, Sinead and Molly took part with Lorna instructing and had great fun tackling the water fences, steps and combinations. 

On Sunday Dunbyrne Riding Club held our leg of the West Leinster Region Linda Moore Showjumping League. Our own members did us proud on home turf. Michelle Davitt and Zono won the primary class - their second win in a row in the league. Tori Cummins Kennedy then won the advanced primary class. Lorna and Sammy competed in the advanced intermediate class with just four faults. Well done to all the winners on the day - Michelle Davitt (Primary), Tori Cummins Kennedy (advanced primary), Gay Parkinson (Sportsmans) , Audrey O'Dwyer (Intermediate), Grainne Alexander (Advanced Intermediate), Caoimhe Delaney (Open). We ran a coffee shop on the day to raise money for the Irish Horse Welfare Trust

Laura Kavanagh headed off hunter trialling with Bobby yesterday while Hannah Groves travelled to the Interschools at Mullingar with Brogan competing on a team who earned sixth place in the final. 

Orla and Aoife Harrington were at Killossery yesterday for the Dressage ireland league final in the Leinster region. Aoife and Cosmic placed second in both classes to take second overall in the league in both the Preliminary and Novice categories. Orla placed third in the league on the elementary class. 

Supporting Spring Success

With the beast from the east and the son of the beast finally moving on it has been a relief for us and our clients that we can all come out of hiding from riding, get back in the saddle and make up for lost time over the past few weeks.

The first week of April saw a hectic schedule with some very promising results. We have a dynamic group of riders here at the moment performing across a variety of disciplines under different governing bodies.  

Stine Anderson has been working hard through the Winter to prepare Alva Gunne's show horse Dutchess for the Northern Ireland Festival. The pair competed this weekend winning the 90cm Working Hunter which was a great result and ideal preparation for heading to Cavan for this festival next week. 

Mia Browne and Hannah Groves headed to Annaharvery for their first ever hunter trials at the weekend. These two DBS Tail Blazers are keen Pony Club members and wanted some hunter trial experience to compliment their minimus training. They flew around the pre-novice pairs with their ponies Belle and Brogan. 

Sisters Orla and Aoife Harrington were at Cavan this weekend for the Dressage Ireland Winter Finals. Aoife and Cosmic took fourth place in the Junior Trailblazers preliminary championship while Orla and Semperit were 9th in the Elementary Category 2 championship.

With private lessons, DBS Tail Blazers and Pony Club coaching scheduled for this week we are delighted to see so much enthusiasm for training and learning from our riders here at Dunbyrne and look forward to seeing what the Spring and Summer competition season will bring.  

Riding Club will be the main focus for Dunbyrne Equestrian next weekend when we host our leg of the West Leinster Region Linda Moore league on Sunday the 15th April. 

Joining A riding club in Ireland

Riding clubs, affiliated to the Association of Irish Riding Clubs (AIRC) are one of the biggest amateur sport organisations in Ireland. Riding clubs provide a friendly and affordable environment for amateur riders in Ireland to compete across all disciplines. If you have never joined a riding club before the information and process might seem daunting so the aim of this blog post is to provide help and encouragement to anyone thinking of joining for the first time. 

In Ireland each affiliated riding club belongs in a region. There are over 100 affiliated riding clubs in Ireland. Our club, Dunbyrne Riding club is based in the Kildare area and falls under the West Leinster region. Riding club members compete representing the club that they choose to join and can compete in local shows run within their own region, in competitions held by other clubs and regions and in National championships. 

Why would I join a riding club?

Riding club brings together like minded amateur riders to learn and compete in a welcoming and enjoyable environment. It is the perfect way to meet new friends and build up experience. 

How do I join a riding club?

You must be aged 17 or over to join. To join a riding club you simply need to contact the club secretary and request to put in an application. All riding clubs and their details can be found at www.airc.ie. Our own club can be reached at dunbyrne@airc.ie / 0858144739 To apply to join a club the secretary will need you to provide your contact details, your competition and riding experience and details of any previous riding club members you may have had. They will also need your date of birth and some passport photos. 

You do not need to be on livery at a yard or living close by to join a specific club. Most riding clubs will base themselves around a yard or equestrian centre in order to enjoy facilities but riders can base themselves where ever they choose. Our riding club is named Dunbyrne Riding Club after our equestrian centre but membership is open to all and members do not need to be on livery with us to join and enjoy the club. 

How much does it cost?

Riding club is a very affordable sport as membership is simply paid annually for the rider. There are no extra charges for registering horses and owners. Membership to a club will vary from €65/70 + depending on the club. Membership runs from January to December with a discount usually offered to anyone joining in the autumn months. For example membership from October to December is available now at just €30. 

What level do I compete at?

If you have never joined a riding club before the club grading officer will asses your riding and your competiton record with other associations (if you have any) in order to advise you on the correct grade for you. In riding club the emphasis is about grading the rider rather than the horse. Riders can upgrade as they progress through the levels. Riders receive a grade for dressage, showjumping and cross country and there can be some level of variation between the grade for each. Beginner riders would be graded at the lowest level for dressage and showjumping and would not do cross country. 

If you have competed before your competition record will be assessed by the grading officer in order to advise on the best grade to start out as. A rough guide is below:

Dressage:

Dressage Ireland preliminary - Riding Club Advanced primary / Intermediate, Dressage Ireland Novice - Riding Club advanced intermediate, Dressage Ireland Elementary - Riding club open, Dressage Ireland Medium + - Riding club advanced open

Jumping:

SJI 80cm - riding club advanced primary, SJI 90cm - Riding club intermediate, SJI 1m - riding club advanced intermediate, SJI 1.10 - riding club open, SJI 1.20 - Riding club advanced open

Cross Country:

Eventing Ireland intro - riding club intermediate, Eventing Ireland pre novice - riding club advanced intermediate, Eventing Ireland novice / 1* - riding club open, Eventing Ireland 2* - riding club advanced open. 

Are there many shows?

We are very lucky in the West Leinster region as there is a dressage and showjumping league which runs in the spring and autumn which has approx 5-7 legs of competition in each. There are also a number of other shows run throughout the year in West Leinster or neighbouring regions including one day events and showing. OUr own club run 3-4 shows a year in the West Leinster region at Dunbyrne Stud in Kilmeague

What about the social side?

Riding club is known for its great social opportunities and outing as well as competitions. Most clubs run social events for members with and without their horses and the West Leinster region also organises a number of social and training days which club members can join. 

Our Case study:

Michelle Davitt started riding lessons at Dunbyrne Equestrian when she and her horse Zono joined us on livery in the Summer. In Michelles first lesson she was asked about her goals for herself and her horse. She stated that she would love to be able to join a riding club and compete at some point but wasn't sure how long it would take her. Michelle joined Dunbyrne riding club during the summer and worked during her lessons towards her goal of competing in the West Leinster autumn league. Michelle was ready to start competing on time for the autumn league and had an amazing riding club debut winning the primary showjumping and taking sixth place in the primary dressage. She and bay gelding Zono are looking forward to continuing to compete through the league and working towards their next goals. Michelle was nervous about competing for the first time but was supported and encouraged by our other riding club members including Susanne Walsh who competes successfully at primary herself and mum and daughter Clare and Orla Harrington who compete at dressage. 

How can I apply to Join Dunbyrne riding club?

You do not need to be on livery with us to join our riding club. We have a number of clients who keep their horses at home or with friends and who join us for lessons, competitions and training. To apply all you need to do is contact our club secretary Charlotte on dunbyrne@airc.ie / 085-8144739

Summer Competition Hots Up For Dunbyrne

Last weekend was a busy one for us and our clients. On Saturday Rory and Ross headed up to Coilog for Showjumping Ireland bringing three of the young horses with them. All three were bought as foals and professionally started and produced here at Dunbyrne Equestrian. Five year old bay mare DBS Looks Royale (Lux Z X Erins Cavalier/Cavalier Royale) and four year old bay gelding DBS Oisin (Shannondale Sacro X Leadmore Myth Ire) went clear in their class with Rory on board. Meanwhile four year old bay gelding DBS Cuchulainn (Pacino X Rassan Blaithin / Coolcoran Cool Diamond) was clear in the metre class with Sean Kavanagh on board. It is great to have the facilities of Coilog on our doorstep to help us to develop these young horses by allowing them to gain experience in the ring and over a variety of fences. 

Aoife Harrington was at Dressage Ireland on Saturday competing in the preliminary class with her pony Milkway (Cosmic). The pair took third place in their class with a great score of 69%. Aoife was delighted as this performance helped her to achieve her goal of qualifying herself and her pony for the National Dressage Championships in September in Cavan. Lorna has been coaching Aoife at dressage and was very proud to see her results. The pair will work together now towards the championships and the silver spurs. 

Ross and Lorna travelled to Annaharvey to compete at Eventing Ireland on Sunday. It was the second ever event for both horses with Lorna competing her own Sammy (DBS Second Chance) and Ross competing Mandy Driesch's Trakehner stallion Grand Marnier. Both horses performed well in dressage and had a double clear in the showjumping and cross country phases to finish on their dressage score. This left Ross in sixth place in the EI100 and Lorna the winner of the EI90 amateur. 

At Dunbyrne we love seeing our team, our clients and our pupils out enjoying their horses and achieving their goals whether those are in or out of the competition arena. If you have a goal you would like us to help you to achieve, please get in touch today. 

Successful Start to June for Dunbyrne Riders

The June bank holiday weekend saw success in the dressage and show ring for some of our riders. 

Sisters Orla and Aoife Harrington competed in Dressage Ireland at the National Sports Campus on bank holiday Monday. Fresh from her success at the riding clubs dressage qualifier, Orla continued her winning streak winning the elementary class with DBS Goldfever with over 70%. This was a lovely finish for Orla ahead of her leaving cert this week - she will be hoping to get the same scores in her exams! Aoife Harrington and her pony Cosmic (Milky Way) competed in the preliminary class. Aoife previously competed in an unregistered class and has been training to improve her riding of the test ahead of her first registered competition. The hard work paid off as she and her pony took first place on the day. 

On the same day Megan Quigley and Lorna Keogh headed to Killossery for their horse and pony show. Megan competed with her chestnut mare With or Without You (Mia) and Lorna competed with her chestnut gelding DBS Second Chance (Sammy). Megan and Mia won the lightweight hunter class and took second place in the side saddle class while Lorna and Sammy took second place in the Small Hunters and reserve champion.