Pupils Take Part in International Equestrian Competition
At the end of July, Zara Wood and Ciara Gilroy (both students at Glenlola Collegiate School) travelled to Scotland to represent Ireland at the British Young Riders Dressage Scheme (BYRDS) Home International competition. Ciara, and her pony Killaan Blu, competed in the Young Rider section for competitors aged 18-25) whilst Zara, and her pony Ard Mirah, was part of the Under 25 dressage team (an amazing achievement for a 12 year old).
Both Zara and Ciara, as well as their ponies, were put through their paces and completed a number of different dressage tests throughout the weekend.
International competitions bring extra nerves but despite this both Ciara and Zara rode fantastic tests. Overall Ciara finished 15th out of 50 competitors and finished 6th in the Young Rider section for the weekend. This is a fantastic achievement as training for young riders in Britain has more prominence than the training provided by Dressage Ireland. Zara was part of a four-person team that competed against twenty-eight other teams. They finished 2nd, winning Silver. Zara also competed as an individual. There were fifty competitors in the class and she finished 5th as an individual rider.
