Mayo student to compete at Dublin Horse Show next month

Mayo student Lucy Watson from Sacred Heart School Westport has qualified for the Dublin Horse Show next month.

Watson qualified in Scarteen for the U-16 ridden Connemara class at the Dublin Horse show which starts on August 6 at the RDS in Ballsbridge.

Lucy will compete with her 11-year-old Connemara mare Slievebloom Hilda.

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She started competing with Slievebloom Hilda last season. They are proving to be a fantastic team together. Philip Scott in Knockmore is Lucy’s trainer and has done a super job producing Hilda for her.

Last week, Lucy & Slievebloom Hilda went to the Irish Pony society championship show in Mullingar. They won the U-16 ridden Connemara class. Then went on to win the Horse Sport Ireland DAFM champion Connemara and a further title of supreme ridden Connemara.

Lucy and Hilda will round up the showing season at the Clifden pony show at the end of August before getting ready to head back to school and start her junior cert year in sacred heart.

Sacred Heart have been a brilliant support to Lucy when she’s been going out competing throughout the school year.

Both her mum and dad, Beatrice & Cathal Hughes, are proud of Lucy’s success last season and this season: "But we're even more proud of her hard work and grit that she has shown as it takes an awful lot of it to get the results," said Beatrice, speaking to The Mayo News.

Beatrice Watson used to compete, and her Connemara pony Rockall was Champion Connemara in the RDS in 2018 so 'it’s lovely to see Lucy taking over the reins' and paving the way as the eldest for her four little sisters.

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