Horse Week: William 'Steeles' the show at Lusk's

While many competitors were attending the HSI showjumping age classes at the Meadows, or at NIF in Cavan, Lusk’s still had a super band of faithful supporters, particularly in the smaller classes.

The 60cm and 70cm classes were very well supported with fierce competition amongst the younger riders.

William Steele on Tootsie was just pipped to the post for first place in the 60cm by Callie Patterson on Indie, with Farrah Davidson on Rummy in third place.

It was great to see the competitive spirit of the younger riders take hold – some who struggled with tight turns for the speed round in week one gave a masterclass in speed round riding by week three!

Tootsie and William Steele made no mistake in the 70cm, relegating both Mum (Clare) and Dad (Jonny) into third and fourth places respectively. Sophie Lindsay sneaked into second place with Robbie.

The 80cm and 90cm were also very competitive, with Gigi Roelle placing second in the 80cm and winning the 90cm on Derrynoose Lady, with Claire Smyth on Tilly just creeping ahead in the 80cm.

The riders in third, fourth and fifth place in the 80cm were all within one second of each other!

The 1m class saw the some of the professionals in action with Rory Lavery, Clare Steele and James McEvoy, but Liz Cherry on her own Monty Miller showed them all how to do it with a super double clear in good time.

As in the 1m class, it was local girl Aimee Webb who took the win in the 1.10m with her own Nala.

The next event at Lusk Equestrian is the annual May Day Show on Monday 6th May 2024.

There are showing and working hunter classes for horses, with a few classes for ponies to ensure as many people as possible are well prepared for the upcoming RUAS Balmoral Show.

As usual, entries for the May Day Show go to Sarah Whiteside (078401117132).

Check out the Lusk Equestrian website or Sarah Whiteside’s Facebook for the schedule.

Lusk Equestrian also plan to run a 2 phase event on 11 May 2024, so keep your eyes peeled on Sarah Whiteside’s Facebook for details.

Results from 28 April:Class 1 - 60cm:1st Callie Patterson, Indie;2nd William Steele, Tootsie;3rd Farrah Davidson, Rummy;= 4th Vivienne Andrews, Sarah’s Pebbles;= 4th Eme Roelle, It Takes Two to Tango;6th Holly Webber, Bluebell.Class 2 - 70cm:1st William Steele, Tootsie;2nd Sophie Lindsay, Robbie;3rd Clare Steele, Scarlett;4th Jonny Steele, Reuben;5th Izabella Cybulska, Diuna;6th Madison McAfee, Jordan.Class 3 - 80cm:1st -Claire Smyth, Tilly;2nd Gigi Roelle, Derrynoose Lady;3rd Sophie Lindsay, Nicely Dun;4th Michaela Glass, Lurganbane Sally;5th Eva Murphy, Penny;6th Kate H Russ, Toffee.Class 4 - 90cm:1st Gigi Roelle, Derrynoose Lady;2nd Ruth Cousins, Emily May;3rd Lexi Wallace, Bit of a Pickle;4th Jim McShane, Denzil;5th Ruby Kinkaid, PJ;6th Elaine Scott, Mirabelle.Class 5 - 1m:1st Elizabeth Cherry, Monty Miller;2nd Michaela Murphy, Zero;3rd Ruby Kinkaid, PJ;4th Clare Steele, Jack.Class 6 - 1.10m:1st Aimee Webb, Nala;2nd Jonny Steele, Winnie;3rd Andrew Greer, Poppy;4th Clare Steele, Jack.