THERE are qualifiers for most of the performance classes at the Dublin Horse Show. All are competitive but especially those for the junior equitation section where it is the performance of the rider which is assessed over one round of jumping.

Leading American trainer Karen Healey returned to judge those who made it through to the final in the RDS last July and her winner of the class for animals between the heights of 138cms and 153cms was Pataire Crawford who was on the home-bred 148cms mare Ardfry Balmoral.

However, after a final look through the figures, the Co Galway rider had to settle for the reserve slot in the championship behind Clara Daly from Co Tyrone who landed the section for ponies not exceeding 138cms on The Magic Minstrel with whom she had finished second in 2015.

Daly, who is trained by Roisin Donnelly and also by Toni Donnelly, has qualified for the junior equitation final once again this year and will also ride The Magic Minstrel in the 143cms working hunter class.

While Daly will be competing in the junior equitation class for the third time, it’s third time lucky for Ravensdale’s Emily McCourt who had tried to qualify in both 2015 and 2016.

The 15-year-old, who is trained by James Kernan, also had to wait until the third qualifier in Barnadown before securing her ticket on the 2009 gelding Rathbane Legend, winner of the young Connemara performance championship at Dublin last year under Emily McGowan.

It was disappointing for McCourt that she failed to qualify previously but she, and others like her, have benefitted greatly from the training they have received which is, after all, the main aim of the class.