AMONG the first people I met at the Dublin Horse Show last Saturday – and it was early enough too – were Wilson Dennison, Ian Wilson and Britt Megahey.

They were in excellent fettle at the start of the day and even better when the show drew to a close that evening as Britt’s son Chris divided the Land Rover Puissance with Co Derry-born but recently Canada-based Daniel Coyle.

Chris rode the 15-year-old Cruise On gelding Seapatrick Cruise Cavalier who, as his name would suggest, was once in the care of Micky and Barry McCann outside Banbridge, while Daniel was on a borrowed mount, the 11-year-old Cavalier Royale gelding Cavalier Rusticana who is usually partnered by Omagh’s Peter Smyth.

This was Seapatrick Cruise Cavalier’s second time to win the Puissance as he landed it two years ago under Egypt’s Sameh El Dahan when Chris was too young to compete. On Saturday, Chris and Daniel cleared the wall at 2.20m.

SMALL HUNTER

Apart from all the usual suspects who had winners in the showing section, we were delighted to see Kerry Finlay from Killinchy land the older small hunter class with Shanbally Ronaldo, an eight-year-old chesnut gelding she purchased at Dublin last year.

Kerry, who is engaged to Bill Dunlop and is a vice principal at Killinchy Primary School, only started riding five years ago so this was a great achievement on her part.

Her good friend Gwen Scott won the four and five-year-old small hunter class with Alison Crozier’s Mastermind and, amazingly, both horses travelled down to Dublin in the same double trailer.