Multyfarnham’s Sarah Maxwell has been celebrating a successful 2024 Dublin Horse Show, winning the Irish Draught Class competition for four and five-year-olds at Ireland’s most prestigious horse show.
The 34-year-old rider also qualified for two other finals at the event which took place at the RDS Arena, Dublin from Wednesday, 14 August until Sunday, 18 August.
Sarah secured first place on the show’s first day, with the five-year-old mare, Carrafarm Constellations, in what was the pair’s second attempt at the particular class category.
“We had a great ride which had us winning,” said Sarah.
“I was very comfortable with her in Dublin. You do the flat work first, so you do a walking trot and a figure of eight. That was really good.
“The next thing was to jump fences and you need to have a clear round to get a chance. There was only three clear rounds and we had the top flat work score too.
“You have to do qualifiers to get there. There is four qualifiers of which the top three for each qualifier gets in, meaning 12 altogether. I was lucky enough to qualify which is really hard.
“In the horse show, I came fifth last year, which I was really happy with. She was only four last year. She is five now, bigger and stronger.”
FROM NOTHING TO DUBLIN HORSE SHOW
Riding with the victorious Carrafarm Constellation wasn’t Sarah’s only commitment on the show’s first day, as she also qualified for the six-year-old and over Irish draught class competition with Crehelp Sliabh Pearla
Sarah commented: “We qualified in Longford. He improved every show he went to but when we went to Dublin, it just got a little but too much for him. We did have a good round but we didn’t get a place.”
On the final day, Sarah competed in her third and last category, the Lightweight Working Hunter class. In a working hunter class, riders are required to jump a course of rustic-looking fences which is then officiated by a ride judge. The conformation is also assessed before the marks for each section are added together.
Sarah stated that she wasn’t expecting to win, but nevertheless was happy with the performance.
She said: “We finished somewhere in the middle but the plan for him was to have a really good round because he is an eight-year-old and he has not done anything like this and we had him only for four months ago.
“To come from nothing to Dublin Horse Show is a lot. You have to do so many shows to prove you would be able to go. He jumped really well.”
Growing up on a farm with plenty of horses on the land meant that Sarah was always likely to have an interest with horse riding. Ever since she was a youngster, she said she had competed at shows, showjumping and eventing.
Her interest in competing has not finished yet, and the 2025 Dublin Horse Show is already being targeted, partly due to the encouragement of her partner, Shane.
“Next year, we will probably have a brand new set of horses that are currently being trained . The aim is to go for Dublin again next year.”
