TIERNAN Gill of the Gill Group, and chairman of the Irish Horse Board, is once again sponsoring the riding horse classes at the Gallagher Dublin Horse Show which get the action underway in Ring 1 next Wednesday when British judges Zara Owen and Josephine Jefferson have an 8.30am start.

Many of those in the ‘small’ class are paying a repeat visit to the Ballsbridge showgrounds and some of those, and others, hold engagements in other sections of the show. One such is Regina Daly’s four-year-old brown Anarchrist gelding First Ruler who is also among the entries for 158cms show hunter pony class on Sunday.

It’s good to see the Hession family is bringing the home-bred Beezies Nite Cruise, a six-year-old home-bred mare by CC Captain Cruise while another mare of interest is Helena Letman’s PLS Amaretto, an eight-year-old bay by Grand Marnier.

The Shane McKenna Show Team horses are in fine fettle at present so we must mention the five-year-old Financial Reward gelding Greenhall Top Shelf who is owned by the producer’s mother Janet. Others who have been among the winners recently are Nikola Mijas’s nine-year-old Epsom Gesmeray mare Annaghmore Epsom Rose, Lisa O’Gorman’s 10-year-old KEC Bluejay Diamond mare Emmas Blue Ruby and Emma O’Gorman Wall’s four-year-old Vivant van de Heffinck gelding Lochdam Tobias. Of course, one should never discount the chances of Nicola Perrin who here rides the in-form Ballarin Bellissimo, a four-year-old daughter of Chelis HC Z.

The riding horse champion of 2025, and winner of the ‘large’ class, was Gillian Torrens’s Redmays Romeo, a six-year-old bay gelding by OBOS Quality 004 who is set to defend his title.

The McKennas will be represented here by the five-year-old Stormy Mountain gelding Watchhouse High Voltage who, under Becky Walter, won the ridden horse class at the recent Connolly’s Red Mills champion of champions finals at Barnadown. Another recent winner is Debbie Harrod’s Tattersalls champion King Of Clubs, a nine-year-old Riverland Roi gelding who finished second in this class last August.

Another horse to catch the eye is Kate and Amory Deblois-McMahon’s nine-year-old Financial Reward gelding Woodfield Bonus who is out of the Lucky Valier mare Woodfield Valier who was supreme hunter champion here in 2010.

There are three thoroughbreds in this class, Garrett Ahern’s 11-year-old Martaline gelding Salseros, Eadaoin Kinsella’s 10-year-old Norse Dancer gelding Brandy and Caroline Moody’s nine-year-old Masked Marvel gelding Champagne Sparkles.