AMONG the many people I met at last week’s Balmoral Show was former point-to-point rider Paul Humphries whose daughter Ellie was one of the Banbridge Academy quartet who won the inaugural running of the Bluegrass Horse Feeds schools team show jumping open championship.

Ellie rode the flashy 148cms chesnut gelding King Mac and the pair were certainly up for the speed section of the two-track competition. With the 12-year-old taking a good hold, Ellie was clear in 32.64s, a time only bettered by three others including her Banbridge Academy teammate Alex Finney who stopped the clock on 28.25s with the 138cms gelding Keogans Boy.

“I don’t think I went that fast when I was racing!” said Paul. “I used to wear goggles but Colin (McKeever) would joke that I shouldn’t bother as I’d never be going quick enough for my eyes to water.” In his point-to-point days, Humphries quite often wore the pink colours of Patricia MacKean.

Also taking a big interest in the schools’ jumping was Colleen Letters who too used to ride for McKeever and was one of the top lady point-to-point riders of her day. Another former point-to-point rider at Balmoral was farrier Rory Lavery who partnered Neil McCluskey’s Glenkeeran Carsonstown into sixth place in the Dengie six-year-old jumping championship.

JONJO VISITS

Disappointingly for Reah Magee, her Aughris Rio Rebel wasn’t forward enough to meet his engagement in the four and five-year-old Connemara class on Thursday morning but she and Jonjo Bright decided to make use of their passes and visit Balmoral Park that day. When asked, Jonjo said he preferred when the show was at the King’s Hall.