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2003
Irish Dressage Championships
Heike Holstein Wins A Record Eight National Title
at 2003 Irish Dressage Championships
September 10, 2003
 At
a well attended national dressage championships in Cavan
Equestrian Centre Heike Holstein riding the imposing
hannovarian gelding Welt Adel won a record eight national
title last weekend.
Heike was just eighteen years old when she won the
first ever Prix St Georges class in Ireland at Powerscourt
in 1990 with Bernstein to clinch her first national
title. Her record is all the more remarkable for the
fact that she has not always been available to compete
at every national championships since then due to the
demands of international duty. The Carbury resident
is having a good season and she and "Tiny" as the gelding
is affectionately known at home put in a great performance
at the recent European dressage championships in Hickstead
to secure an individual qualification place for Ireland
at the Olympic Games in Athens next year. Reigning national
champion Niall Quirk's top horse Alucolor Atlanta was
sidelined before the championships even began and the
popular trainer experienced the frustration of being
unable to defend his title. Three lined out for the
Horseware Grand Prix in the main arena on Sunday afternoon
including european championship team member Yvette Truesdale
and former national champion Katy Price. Heike was first
in to perform the 2003 B Grand Prix test and scored
66.53% with Welt Adel clearly impressing the visiting
international judges with some eye catching passage.
Indeed the three officials, Dutch judge Louky van Olphen,
Hans-Joachim Eitel from Germany and British judge Sally
Merrison were remarkably consistent in their marking
of all three competitors in this class. Katy Price and
Cabalo were next in. This partnership had only competed
in their first Grand Prix at the Necarne Festival in
May and the son of Lavallo showed his inexperience at
this level with the piaffe movement posing a particular
difficulty for him at this stage of his career. Yvette
Truesdale and Accolade have had a disrupted season with
the gelding out of competition for a period during the
summer. However they put in a solid display to score
62.22% to slot into second place behind Holstein.
Lief Thornblad from Denmark judged the K K Interiors
Potential Dressage Horse Final in the main arena on
Saturday morning. Six horses qualified from around the
country for the final and these were divided into two
groups, four year olds and five year olds for the judge
to inspect. The finalists were asked to walk, trot and
canter and show some lenghtening on the long side of
the arena. The emphasis was on their trainability and
potential. The clear winner was the Northern region
qualifier Mrs Helen Troughton's 4 year old KWPN (Netherlands)
bay mare Pastiche ridden by her daughter Kelly. This
daughter of Cocktail Time out of Massada impressed Lief
Thornblad at every level. Young rider Christiana Manoras
received the Lady Cliodhna trophy for the best horse
of Irish breeding in the final when she placed second
with the 5 year old chestnut gelding Tonka Wakkan.
Kelly Troughton's early morning success with Pastiche
was to prove no flash in the pan and she headed home
to Ballintaggart Stud after the prizegiving ceremony
on the Sunday evening having won the M & J Dennigan
Young Horse Championship and the Blarney Riding Centre
Preliminary Championship as well. Both mother and daughter
vowed afterwards that this was a horse they were going
to keep and there is no doubt that this mare is a worthy
recipient of the title of national potential dressage
horse of the year.
Yvette Truesdale made a tactical switch with the stallion
Jaywalker when foregoing the opportunity to compete
in the Kevin O'Sullivan Intermediare II Championship
and running in the Sven Kapp sponsored Prix St Georges
championship on the Saturday afternoon instead. It proved
a shrewd move by the Newcastle resident as she was awarded
top marks by British judge Jenny Ward and the Dane Lief
Thornblad to beat young rider Christiana Manoras and
Kanjo into second with the Gain sponsored Anne Marie
Dunphy and Mercury in third. However Truesdale sill
had a runner in the form of the long serving gelding
Accolade in the Intermediare II championship and she
won that as well from sole challenger Katy Price and
Caballo.
The remainder of the afternoon session on Saturday
was given over to the freestyle classes. Reigning northern
region champion Carolyn Smith continued her recent good
run of form both at home and abroad when winning the
medium freestyle championship sponsored appropriately
as it turned out by the northern region. Lucy Adams
who is also the regional chairman pressed Carolyn hard
for the title and only missed out by less than 0.2%
to place second with Corkonian Angela Lyons taking third
prize with the skewbald gelding Latino J. Seven competitors
lined out for the Baileys Prix St Georges Freestyle
Championship and this was dominated by two of the members
of the Irish Young Riders team that competed at the
European championships last July. The class was won
with a stylish display from the Donie McNamara trained
Christiana Manoras with her Dutch warmblood gelding
Kanjo. This pair were clear winners with a score of
69.83% from fellow team member Kate Dwyer riding her
mothers Montana Bay. Kate is trained by her mother Maureen.
However both the trainers and their pupils are themselves
trained by Conrad Schumacher the inspirational German
dressage master. There was no doubting that his influence
was all pervasive over the three days at Cavan Equestrian
Centre, the venue for his highly successful seminar
last November, as reflected in the outstanding results
achieved by these riders and others availing of his
training over the last few years.
The large numbers competing at Cavan this year meant
an early start in the main arena on Sunday morning and
Jennifer Somerville and Mr Bingley were first in to
compete in the Vinesgrove Stud and Racing Medium championship.
The school principal has had a busy year including a
stint as chef d'equipe with the Young Riders in Saumur.
Another rider trained by Conrad Schumacher she posted
the early standard of 63.51%. With the class running
for a further three and a half hours with over twenty
competing just two combinations managed to beat her
score. Heike Holstein with the former potential dressage
horse winner World Fire scored 67.43% to win with Rolf
Seidel and the eight year old hannovarian chestnut gelding
Lorenzo K taking secnd spot with a score of 65.68%.
Meanwhile in the oudoor sand arena Heather Burchers
6 year old Oldenburg mare Hot Lips won a hotly contested
Tony Goodwin and Sons Saddlers Novice Championship when
seeing off the challenge of northern young rider Eimear
McCaroll and Kashmir. Back in the main arena the final
freestyle of this years national championships the leinster
region sponsored Advanced Medium drew a small field
of four starters and Carolyn Smith picked up her second
win of the championships with Has to be Fun owned by
Jim Burgess. This combination have gone from strength
to stength as the season has progressed and the six
year old son of Welt Hit is one to note for the future.
Riders in the under 21 championships were permitted
to ride tests from preliminary up to medium level and
the class was divided into three sections Pony, Junior
and Young Riders. The Equestrian World under 21 pony
championship was won by Louise Ireson from County Wicklow
with the very experienced Texan. The Maynooth based
firm also sponsored the under 21 junior championship
which was won by northern based rider Alison Shaw riding
Abbey National which is owned by her aunt Jennifer Somerville.
The Berney Brothers under 21 young riders championship
saw success once again for the northern region with
victory going to Eimear McCarroll and Kashmir. But there
was even more good news for the northern region who
by this stage were having one of their best championships
ever when it was confirmed that their team of Eimear
McCarroll, Eaine Morrow, Lucy Adams and Sylvia Henry
had won the Spruce Lodge shield and with it the Horseware
regional team championship for 2003.
The finalists in the eastern region elementary final
experienced the worst of the downpour that reached Cavan
on Sunday afternoon but it did not deter Dollanstown
resident Rolf Seidel from turning the tables on Heike
Holstein after she beat him in the Medium championship
earlier in the day. This time Lorenzo K found favour
with visiting British judges Jenny Ward and Donald Kear
scoring 68% for the win. Heike placed second with Wild
Fire with another Dollanstown inmate Caroline Bjoerk
taking the yellow rosette with the 10 year old Swedish
warmblood gelding Balans.
Back in the indoor arena the nortern region sucess
story continued when Yvette Truesdale held off the challenge
of another of the young rider team Laragh Hamilton to
win the Ballintaggart Stud Advanced Medium Championship.
An earlier visit to the indoor with the Weltmeyer mare
Wishfull Thinking had proved a difficult experience
but on this occasion normal service was resumed to secure
the win. Laragh Hamilton rode an impressive test with
the home produced 8 year old chestnut gelding Commanding
Officer to place second ahead of Lucy Adams and Ben
Hymn.
The young riders had more to cheer about when Kate
Dwyer won the Thoroughbred Insurance Services Intermediare
1 Championship with 15 year old son of Edmund Burke
Montana Bay. She was level with senior rider Anne Marie
Dunphy on the stallion Mercury on a score of 63.88%
but the collectives swung it in Kates favour. Zara Barton
from Lancashire is currently based in Ireland and training
with Niall Quirk. She was just fractions of a percentage
behind Kate and Anne Marie when scoring 63.75% to place
third with Pretty Woman. Kate Dwyer won the under 21
national title for her outstanding performance. The
Irish Draught Society perpetual Cup for the best horse
with Irish Draught breeding was awarded to the 10 year
old grey mare Beezies Sue ridden by Simone Hession.
Related Links
2003 Irish Young Riders
Team Announced
Heike
Holstein to Coach Irish Young Riders at European Championships
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