When the trees and shrubs around the Boyd’s Quarries water grow to maturity it will be a spectacular fence and all around the main farm there are more trees planted to enhance the grounds. Across the road, the farm’s amazing rath has been opened up to provide the fort drop, fence 17 on the one-star track.

Aside from running this event, May is a pretty busy month on the equestrian front for Britt Megahey. His company, Barclay Communications, is joining forces with the Sloan family’s Bottle Green firm to sponsor the Grand Prix at Balmoral Park next Friday, while on the Friday of Tattersalls, where Britt’s son Harold has Chuckelberry entered in the CIC***, Barclay Communications are title sponsors of the evening race meeting at Down Royal.

Through the racecourse’s general manager Mike Todd, Down Royal provided and sponsored the chase fence on the cross-country track and many other fences were also sponsored, with all monies raised going to the Jonjo Bright Trust. A ‘Go as you please’ class was held over the track on Sunday and again, all funds raised were destined for the Trust.

Riding the aptly-named Big Max, on whom he competed in the CCI* at Weston Park last October, Megahey finished third in Saturday’s Dunboyne Castle Hotel & Spa CNC* Amateur class, which was won by Joy Lindsay on Lassban-Au-Revoir.

The day’s host picked up eight penalties in the Charles Hurst-sponsored show jumping ring where his great rival, Denis Currie, assistant society steward at the event, was eliminated for taking the wrong course. This was something Britt had managed to do himself the previous weekend at Finvoy where there were just four in the class.

Over the Adam Stevenson-designed, built and beautifully-presented one-star track here, two horses picked up 20 penalties at the corner at seven, which had a black flag option, but otherwise problems were fairly dispersed throughout the course.

The home-based Glenpatrick Bold was eliminated when decanting Ron Schaefer at 21, the saw bench, in the regular CNC*, while there was also a parting of the ways between Christine Newton and Runaway Rebel at eight, the ski jump, in the amateur division.

There were a couple of rider falls also over the pre-novice track and over the strong intro course, where fence seven, the Albany birch, caught out a few. A small number of horses had to be re-presented at 10, the Doagh Farm Feeds birch.

There were seven starters in the O/CNC*, where Steven Smith claimed the top two places, on his dressage scores, with his own Ringfort Valentino (25 penalties) and Jessica Acheson’s Bridgehousestud River Wild (29).

Fresh from their success in the supreme working hunter championship at the Northern Ireland Festival in Cavan the previous weekend, Emma Jackson and Creevagh Connection led from start to finish to claim the 18-runner CNC* class.

On 24.5, the seven-year-old S Creevagh Ferro gelding held a two-point lead after dressage over Kilbannon Coolboy but the margin increased when the Lucca Stubington-ridden Loughehoe Guy gelding picked up 5.2 cross-country time penalties. There were only six clear show jumping rounds in the class.

Both starters in the CNCP** lowered one of the coloured poles. Kildare’s Lucy Arkwright was faster across the country with Sally McNally, 2.8 time penalties giving her a total of 42.8, but, with the better dressage mark of 27, Sophie Buller took the honours with G Maha (37.8). Both combinations are heading to Tattersalls.

Allergic to horses, and ponies, commentator Nick Boyle was suffering badly before taking up his position beside Peter Quirke in the control box on Saturday.

However, there was a good end to his day as, in spite of a pole down show jumping, daughter Ella won the CNCP* on Granstown Bobby Dazzler, having led after dressage (23), while her sister Maya was second in the pony C on her flatwork mark of 19.5 with Topaz Zareign Spirit. Both ponies are owned by Nick’s wife Amanda.

“Nick gets a little bit worked up when the girls go out on the cross-country,” said Quirke. “He fidgets, gets up on his feet, sits down again, is up again and is in and out the door like a jack-in-the-box.”

In the one-star class, Ella finished just a point clear of the Tyrella (3) winners, Ciara Gilroy and the Connemara Hill Storm, while, in the Pony C, Maya was a point adrift of Izzy Riley and Monarch Of The Glen who were doubling up on their Maddybenny victory.