The Dressage Ireland National Championships was hosted by Mullingar Equestrian Centre for the first time in 2023, and it is safe to say that the show was a great success. Robert Fagan and family have worked continuously over the last number of years to expand and upgrade the facilities at their midlands base, and there is much to be admired.

The Pavilion bar and restaurant is the centrepiece of the venue, and spectators can watch the action in both of the main arenas whilst staying warm and dry. This proved particularly useful last Sunday when the weather took a serious nosedive and turned dressage into an extreme sport for a few hours. Regardless of the meteorological gremlins, there was a great atmosphere all weekend and many smiles all round.

I enjoyed a super show, and my lovely mare performed with aplomb across the three days. My husband clearly thought that I was borderline insane when I got out of bed at 4am on the first day. He reckoned things were bad back when I was eventing in weird locations requiring very early starts, but he was completely confused about stupid o’clock alarm calls for JUST dressage and at a LOCAL venue.

I had an 8.30am test time but I felt like one of the cool kids because for the first time ever, I had help in the warm-up. My endlessly patient and generous coach Heike Holstein made sure that things got off to a good start, and was on hand across the weekend to support and advise.

Judges bell

As I made my way around the arena awaiting the judges bell to begin the early morning test, my child suddenly leaped up from behind a hedge and shouted: “Hello mummy!” at the top of his voice. It broke the tension for me, making me laugh out loud.

My husband had brought the child over to cheer me on, and he was delighted to have blagged the morning off school. He also got a fried breakfast out of it, so it was a win-win as far as he was concerned. My mare and I placed in all of our classes and in the relevant championships, and Louise O’Brien took beautiful photographs of it all. I am still on cloud nine, and I might never come down!

Thank you to Dressage Ireland, and to all associated with the running of this great show.