THE geldings Mastermind and Shanbally Ronaldo travelled down to the Dublin Horse Show together last week and both won their respective classes in Wednesday’s Thorntons Recycling small hunter division, the former having bragging rights on the way home as champion.

Scotland’s Kirstine Douglas judged the small hunters along with Richard Mills and in the opening four and five-year-old class they had the Annie Prendergast-ridden Farmhill Grange of Donard topping their original line-up followed by the Gwen Scott-partnered Mastermind.

When it came to the presentation of ribbons however, the pair had swopped places and that is how they also stood in the championship.

Alison Crozier’s Mastermind is a 2012 gelding by Chipolini VM Z and was bred in Co Wexford by George Masterson out of the Holycross mare Ballyhoura Dolly. In 2016, the bay was shown here by P.J. Casey and finished fifth in his four-year-old lightweight geldings’ class behind Bloomfield Kylemore who won his hunter class again this year.

Crozier managed to purchase Mastermind at the end of December and this was just his fourth show this season. At Balmoral in May, he finished fourth in the small hunter class behind Philippa Scott’s home-bred SCT Le Bijou du Reve. That Harlequin du Carel gelding must have been ‘missed’ in the go-around on Wednesday as, on closer inspection from the judges, he was moved up to third from the very bottom of the line.

Second in this class, and in the championship, the four-year-old Irish Draught gelding Farmhill Grange Of Donard appeared under the name of Charleville exhibitor Glenn Knipe although sold before the show to Newmarket-based Vicky Smith and Steve Pitt.

Knipe purchased the grey privately as a three-year-old in Co Wicklow from his breeder Phil Deegan, who owns both the sire, Skipping Grange, and dam, Louise Of Donard (by All The Diamonds). He did 28 days’ hunting over the winter with the Duhallow Foxhounds and the Old Mill Foxhounds.

Smith and Pitt spotted Farmhill Grange of Donard while judging in Charleville and immediately decided to buy him. He will continue to be shown as a small hunter in England.

Killinchy’s Kerry Finlay only started riding five years ago so she can be justifiably proud of winning the six-year-old and upwards class on Shanbally Ronaldo who she purchased from the McNamara family of Craughwell at last year’s Dublin Horse Show.

“We took Chop and Ronaldo to the winter working hunter leagues together and competed in the small at the country shows alongside each other so it’s been like a fairytale to have them win both small classes at Dublin,” said Finlay.

“My plans for Ronaldo is to do hunt rides, etc over the autumn and winter and then he’ll babysit Gwen’s string of youngsters next year. After that, we’ll most likely continue on the small hunter circuit and also progress from novice to open working hunter level. We might even diversify into side-saddle.”

Second in Wednesday’s older class was the seven-year-old Arthurs Gold mare Cloneyhea Jasmine who was ridden for Pallaskenry exhibitor Pat Meehan by Jodie Moran. The chesnut was bred by Cloneyhea Equestrian out of the thoroughbred mare Deep Chesnut (by Black Minstrel) whose 2010 foal, Cloneyhea Jasmine (also by Arthurs Gold), was second in Thursday’s ladies’ side-saddle class.