HAVING spent Thursday and Friday judging young horses in Ring 1, racehorse trainer Jonathan Geake moved up to Ring 2 on Saturday when he judged the working hunter pony section with Joanne Griffin. Their champion was Mullybrannon Diamond, winner of the 158cms class, as he was on two previous occasions. The nine-year-old Dario gelding was bred near Claremorris by Janet Hinchion out of the White Clover mare Duchess of Diamond.

Mullybrannon Diamond, who was also champion in 2014, was ridden by 20-year-old Sadhbh Springate who is studying analytic science at DCU. Sadhbh shares the ride on the dual champion with her brother Cian (18) who will be on board the horse at Tattersalls Ireland today as a member of the Kildare Pony Club’s intermediate team competing in the Irish Pony Club’s eventing championships.

For the third year in a row, Randalstown’s Jodie Creighton was beckoned forward into the reserve spot, this time on board her mother Gillian’s Charleville Farah, winner of division one of the 143cms class.

Creighton qualified the 10-year-old Monaghanstown Fionn mare for the Horse of the Year Show during the Northern Ireland Festival. Next year, she plans to start eventing the bay Connemara who was bred in Co Laois by Olive Lynch out of the Ross Lobeen mare Abbeyfield Farah.

Also successful in this division were Marjorie Hardiman’s 13-year-old dun gelding Dunmaster (Laura Field) and Richard Rohan’s 21-year-old skewbald mare Sunshine Sue (Jill Casey) at starter stakes level, while Frank Quirke’s Tybroughney Cloud (Emilia Quirke) landed the 133cms class.

Kate Horgan topped the final line-up in division two of the 143cms class on her mother Hannah’s 11-year-old bay gelding Moona Curragh Ted, while the divisions of the 153cms class fell to John Barry-Murphy’s 10-year-old grey gelding Conans Boy (Olga Barry-Murphy) and John Rafferty’s similarly-aged mare Cor Rambler (Hannah Rafferty).