THE first of the season’s Dublin Horse Show performance qualifiers for Connemara ponies and Irish Draught horses took place on another day of brilliant weather last Saturday at Scarteen.

The new rule which restricts the number of horses/ponies each rider can enter at the qualifiers appeared to have an effect on the size of the fields but the leading producers still managed to book tickets for their mounts and some familiar names were to the fore yet again.

Graiguenamanagh veterinary surgeon Diarmuid Ryan, who had been in action here the previous Wednesday when he qualified a mare for the small event horse championship at Dublin, is a case in point.

He won two of the ID classes, one in both age groups, and missed qualifying a third horse when Joey Moore’s Prince Of Peacockstown (226 points) was well beaten in Section A of the four and five-year-old class by his stable-companion, and fellow 2014 gelding, Cotterstown Dollar (238).

Owned by Patricia Molloy, the winner had finished second in the four-year-old performance ID class at Balmoral Park last month behind the reserve champion, Shannaghmore White Smoke. The grey son of Longwood Silver Dollar led after the flat phase (63) and, while he lost one point for time in the jumping phase, his performance in the Derby arena saw him awarded nine points out of 10 points for rhythm and fluency.

Cotterstown Dollar was bred in Co Sligo by Patrick Henry out of the Star Kingdom mare Rosie Kingdom who had a foal every year from 2009 to 2016, all by ID stallions.

Ryan’s winner of Section B of the six-year-old and upwards class was an unnamed Classic Vision gelding owned by Darren Jordan. The eight-year-old was bred in Co Roscommon by Anthony and Deirdre Owens out of the Uibh Fhaili ’81 mare Lady Annaghmore who also visited ID stallions throughout her breeding career.

MAHER QUALIFIES

Section A of the older class went the way of another busy rider, Lee Maher, who also competes in the young event-horse series. His winner on Saturday was Linda Lonergan’s TM Ireland’s Kingdom who completed on 236 points, two ahead of the Alice Copithorne-partnered Welcome Jack Diamond, who also booked a qualifying slot.

TM Ireland’s Kingdom, a seven-year-old by Star Kingdom, was bred in Co Kildare by James Hoare out of the Agherlow mare Dowdstown Glow whose only registered foal he is. The runner-up, who is a year younger, is by Welcome Diamond and was bred in Co Cork by Patrick Murphy out of the Penmerryls Rhythm And Blues mare Mounteenlass.

Section B of the four and five-year-old class went to the home-based Anni Flagmount who was ridden for landowner and commentator Chris Ryan by joint-owner Jason Furlong to top the flat phase comfortably, record the only total clear in the Derby arena and then achieve nine points for rhythm and fluency.

The owners purchased their gelding out of this qualifier last year. He did a good bit of hunting up to Christmas and competed in an EI90 class at Kilquilkey last month.

Completing with 241.5 points, the five-year-old grey by Welcome Emperor was another who scored by a big margin although here, the second-placed Paulbeg Moonstone (229), a four-year-old mare by Zidane Cross, was awarded a qualifying spot.

Bred in Co Mayo by T.J. Gibbons, Anni Flagmount is out of the Grey Macha mare Cloonacastle Countess. His 2007 half-brother Foster Flagmount (by Welcome Flagmount) won his two EI90 starts in 2012 when he was second in his performance ID class at Dublin.

Three of the younger horses failed to complete their jumping rounds while one less did so among the older brigade.