Rachel Moore received the best pre-wedding present on Sunday afternoon when landing the working hunter championship with her own Ballymacbrennan Merdios.

Rachel – who today, Saturday, marries fiancé Kyle Rooney – first came out on top in the middle/heavyweight class of five-year-olds and over with one of only two clear jumping rounds.

They then remained at the head of affairs in the supreme for judges Louise Daly and Jenny Banks, with reserve going to Gwen Scott riding the Lynne Shields owned 10-year-old Flores Diamond Count also from the middle/heavyweight division.

The working hunters always attract a large entry, and this year was no exception, with over 90 across the six age and weight divisions.

From that, remarkably only 14 jumped clear, with the biggest number of clears (six) coming from the lightweight for older horses won by Chloe Fagan on her father Mark’s seven-year-old home-bred Deravarra Rise N Shine. They were also very popular winners earlier in the week of the junior/young rider event horse class.

Katie Byrne was on board the family-owned and bred Fairyhouse Coco (Gwennic De Goariva) to win the traditionals’ Section A with a lovely jumping clear – one of only three – and Edwina O’Connor secured Section B of this class with the only clear on the nine-year-old Irish Draught Ashwood Reggie (Keamore Diamond Clover) for her mother Noreen.

This nine-year-old was bred in Co Wicklow by the stallion’s owner David Miley and was, in fact, one of three Irish Draughts in this line-up.

Alice Griffin took the ride on JJ Bowe’s Irish Draught Patrickswell Danny to win the four-year-olds and Lesley Jones (Webb) brought out Yvonne Pearson’s Quality Choice to win the five and six-year-old lightweights.

While Moore won the lightweight division last year with the then six-year-old, she said ‘Chase’ has matured greatly this year having had a few wins and placings in both show jumping and showing – including at the Royal Highland Show where he placed second in the ladies’ side saddle.

“He is so versatile and is jumping away too at 1.20m,” Moore said of the son of Mermus R spotted as a foal from her neighbour George Nixon Beacom.