BRENDAN McSorley triumphed with his home-bred three-year-old The Rustler in the final of the Half Bred Horse Breeders Society loose jumping championships at Portmore EC.
The gelding is by Russel out of Echo Peach, a mare by Clover Echo and had earlier won the Connell Hill qualifier in late November.
The final was judged by Ian Fearon who was very impressed by the quality and standard of the young horses competing. Marks were close, with just a few marks separating the top 10 horses.
The large crowd which attended the final was well informed by the commentary provided by Diane Harron-Eakin of Ringfort Sport Horses.
Congratulations to the breeders and owners of the 32 horses who made it through from the many horses who competed in the qualifying rounds to go through to the final. It is worth noting that past competitions have shown that many horses outside the top 10 have also gone on to compete at the top level.
The purpose of this competition is to provide a shop window for the breeders to show their wares and let buyers from Ireland and further afield see the quality of what is being bred and produced. It was noted that buyers were active on the night and a number of horses changed hands throughout the course of the competition.
The championships were generously supported by Parklands Veterinary Group, Galway Bay Stud, Drumhowan Stud, Stonebridge Feeds and John Gibson of Sporting Image NI, as well as the venues for the qualifiers and the final.
The final line-up was as follows:
1. Brendan McSorley’s The Rustler by Russel out of Echo Peach by Clover Echo.
2. Martin McCabe’s Miss Hilltop Clover by Clover Echo out of Hilltop Belle by Big Sink Hope.
3. Norman Watt’s Pippa’s Beach by Beach Ball out of Elley’s Next In Line by Coevers Diamond Boy.
4. Jim Newson’s Clerkson by Clerenwell out of Chamonix by Kitzbuhel.
5. Yvonne Whiteside’s Un-named by The Echo Factor out of Yew Safari by HHS BR Charlton.
6. Janice Reddy’s Arnacashel Cosmpolitan by Ustinov out of My Mountain Lady by Sir Revie.
7. Gareth Carlisle’s MT Maggie May by Hoeks Ludo W out of Cavalier Dot by Cavalier Royale.
8. Newberry Wilson’s Tuilleadh Uisce Beatha by Ustinov out of Ice Gold by Clover Echo.
9. Judith Sossick’s Loughview Black Diamond by Cashell out of Loughview Diamond Lass by Jack of Diamonds.
10. Hilary Furlonger’s Un-named by ARS Vivendi out of Crissy by Cruising.