THE Co Mayo combination of owner Liam Lynskey and rider Hannah Gordon missed the Young Event-Horse qualifier at Forth Mountain last Tuesday week as they sadly had to attend the funeral in Ballina of show jumper Jack Dodd.
On Saturday the pair travelled to the Wexford venue with a mixture of Irish Draughts and Connemaras and secured a qualifying ticket for Dublin when Brackagh Dream won Section B of the five to seven-year-old Connemara class.
A 2011 son of a former Dublin performance champion in Black Shadow, the grey completed on a total of 232.5 points, as did the Christine O’Donnell-owned and ridden Ballylee Copper Boy. However, the pony from the west got the nod as his clear round was completed in a time closer to the optimum than that of his rival.
“This was Brackagh’s third time to qualify at Forth Mountain which has made the journey all worthwhile,” said Lynskey. “All we need now is for it to prove third time lucky! There was a tough jumping track there today but, the tougher it is, the better it is for him. The standard in these classes is going up all the time and there is a high level of professionalism in both the Connie and Draught sectors.”
Brackagh Dream, who has 27 Showjumping Ireland points, was bred in Co Offaly by Eugene Moran out of the Westside Mirah mare Creggan Lady. Ballylee Copper Boy, who has 45 SJI points, is a six-year-old chesnut gelding by Coral Misty’s Comic who was bred in Co Galway by Declan O’Flynn out of the Corrib Prince mare Glenoran Peggy.
winner
Among the entries for the flat Connemara and show hunter pony classes at the RDS last August, Kildromin Shearer booked his qualifying place for the Connemara performance championship as winner of Section A under south Co Dublin’s Rachel Alken.
The seven-year-old Glendine Kestrel gelding recorded one of seven clear rounds in this section where he held a one-point lead after the flat phase before dropping half a point for conformation compared to the second and third-placed ponies, Brock Blizzard and Cluainin Robb, who received the maximum 10 points.
The trio were awarded eight points apiece for rhythm and fluency leaving Kildromin Shearer, who was bred in Co Limerick by Patrick Hayes, the winner on 241.5 while the Alicia Devlin Byrne-ridden Brock Blizzard claimed the second qualifying slot although completing on the same score as Cluainin Robb (241).
Event rider and young horse producer Lee Maher, who is based at Orla Byrne’s FLS Sport Horses yard in Kilmacthomas, recorded an impressive near 10-point victory in Section A of the eight to 15-year-old class on Ballydavid Out Of The Mist.
The 11-year-old Templebready Fear Bui mare, who was home-bred in Co Waterford by Madelaine Gervais out of Ballydavid Lady (by Moy Johnny’s Pride), more or less booked his qualifying ticket in the flat phase where he received 70.5 points while his nearest rival, both at this stage and at the finish, Irish Cousin was awarded 65.
Owned and ridden by Niamh Ruane, that 11-year-old Silver Shadow mare also booked a qualifying ticket when second on 237.5 points.
Devlin Byrne had better luck in Section B where she qualified on Michael and Teresa Clarke’s 10-year-old All Smoke gelding Grey Smoke (244) just ahead of the previously-qualified, Isabelle Nally-ridden Benny Liath (243.5) and Sandra Hatton’s Glencarrig Jenna (Sive Ryan) who, although finishing third (243), took the second qualifying slot.